It All Started With an Owl
by bookluvr4life
Summary: How one owl can change everything...
1. Prologue, Part 1

It All Started With an Owl…

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I own my car, a few dozen pens and notebooks, and that's about it. I can hardly afford gas, let alone the rights to Harry Potter and Co. All I get from this is a sick pleasure of taking characters and places from J.K. Rowling's world and playing with them is the fun of taking them and playing with them. And the occasional review from other weirdo's who like playing with them as well. Please don't take that away from me.

Author's Notes: This story is based off of characters and situations from my own life. If you recognize anything, it may be because you know me. If that is the case, I apologize for my lack of social skills. I spend more time in fan fiction than honing my relationship skills. Let me know if it's worth it in a review or if I should just give up and become a social butterfly.

Also, this may or may not be a one-shot, depending on if I decide to continue it or not, which depends on whether anything happens between the real-life people this story was based on… or if I get inspiration other than that for the story.

Last note before I get on with the story, I promise. I envision this relationship as Hermione/Remus because that's the kind of people the real people are (minus the age difference) but it doesn't explicitly say that in the story (at least not yet. If I continue, it probably will).

OK, on with the story!

* * *

It was never supposed to happen, but happen it did. We started off owling each other every once in a while, whenever something excited happened in our lives, mainly. That turned into weekly missives where we discussed everything from our mutual friends' latest antics to schoolwork to philosophy. We began writing to each other as often as we could; Oftentimes our owls would cross paths in the air, making it so we'd be discussing several things at once. 

I'd taken to writing some rather obscure quotes (especially to the wizarding world) at the end of my letters to him, and he'd respond in kind. It became a sort of contest to see who could come up with the better quotes.

Somewhere along the way, I trusted him with some of my deepest secrets and he did the same. I felt honored that this man who gave so much and asked so little , that didn't let people know the real him, had let me in. He trusted me with some things that not even his best friend knew. I'm not pretending I know everything there is to know about him- I know I don't, but I know more than most could ever hope to… and I am very blessed because of it.

Sometime in our friendship, I fell in love. I can't tell you when or why it happened, only that it did. Romantic Relationships were the one thing we never discussed. Well, we did once. A rather awkward floo conversation several years ago where it was decided that it just wouldn't be right for us to become romantically involved with each other at that point in our relationship. We haven't spoken of seeing each other- or other people- since them. And then I did what I knew I shouldn't do- I fell for him, and fell hard. It's been a while since I've admitted it to myself (and longer that it's been true I wouldn't admit) and I've cherished his letters and floo calls more and more as time passes.

The only thing is… I can't tell him. I want to so bad, but I just can't. What if he doesn't feel the same way? Even scarier: what if he does?

* * *

OK, so that was it. The could-be one-shot. I think the beginning notes were almost as long as the actual writing… sorry 'bout that, but really, it's not about how many words the story is, as long as you can say what needs to be said. There was more I could have written, but most of it would have just been taking up space, cluttering things up. And I'm trying to rid myself of clutter, so it's not in there. Hope you're ok with that. If not, well, that's ok too. 

This was quite possibly the shortest thing I have ever written, but I like it more than some other pieces, so I'm ok with that. As I said before, I see this as Remus/ Mione, which WILL come up if/ as I write more to it. If you don't like that idea, don't read more after I update, simple as that.

You can, however, review no matter what you thought, and let me know how I did. And now I KNOW that all this combined writing outside the story is longer than the story itself… whoops.


	2. Prologue, Part 2

Prologue, Part 2.

A/N: Hey all, sorry it's taken so long to post another part to this story, things have been changing all around me, I've moved, started a new job, all that jazz. I know, still no excuse. All I can really say is that I was having problems writing the first chapter until I realized that this part needed to be written first. So, from Remus' perspective, here's how it all started with an owl.

* * *

She was my student. Probably the smartest child I've ever met. She was the fastest person to ever figure out my secret. Constantly searching for knowledge, she owled me a few years after I stopped teaching her. She wanted to know what I could tell her about the Zorgon Snake. That letter led to a lot more correspondence between us. Before too long, we were friends and the letters became more personal. I remember she ended one of the letters with a quote, Emerson, I believe, and I responded with Fredrickson. It became sort of a friendly competition with us to see who could find the most obscure quote. She was, of course, at a natural advantage, having grown up with Muggle literature then immersing herself in the Wizarding culture. I would never just let her win though. Not that I'll ever admit she did.

Even though we've been friends for the last 7 years, I can't shake the memory of standing before her in a classroom, teaching the girl she was. This is part of why I get so frustrated with myself when the butterflies start attacking my stomach when she's around or I find myself watching as she walks away. She may be a beautiful, smart, funny, amazing woman now, but just 10 years ago, she was a child in my care.

Besides, she could have anyone she wanted. What could she see possibly see in a poor, middle-aged werewolf like me?

* * *

A/N: Another short one. Next one should be a little longer, at least, depending on where I decide to end it. I have a plan for what's to happen, for at least a little while, so the next update shouldn't take as long as this one did. Please review, let me know what you think of this. Many thanks! 


	3. Chapter 1: Dinner

It All Started with an Owl

Chapter 1

A/N: ok, so it's been longer than I thought it would take to update, but it's here, so don't kill me, please. It's not that long, but it's longer, and even more importantly an update is an update. I don't think any of the chapters are going to be very long except one, possibly a couple more, depending on what specific ideas I come up with.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, do you really think I'd stand in a toll booth for 9 hours a day trying to make some money?

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to SiriuslyLupine, who will hopefully not go into sugar-shock from the sweetness of this chapter, and who got me hooked on this pairing.

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"Excuse me everybody, I have an announcement." Harry's voice rang out above the noisy chattering going on around the big picnic table in the Weasleys' backyard on Friday evening. Everyone quieted down to hear his announcement.

"You all know that the annual ministry ball celebrating the fall of Vol-diddy is next month. I'm pleased to be able to announce that instead of listening to my drabble for yet another year, the new Minister has decided to have the person who did the real work, the brains behind the defeat of Voldemort to be the speaker this year." Thunderous applause drowned out anything else he was going to say, so he sat down.

Hermione's cheeks turned bright pink as she turned to Harry. "Make sure _the Minister_ is available for a meeting with me at 8 o'clock Monday morning."

After all the excitement died down, people began clearing their plates and either apparating away or retiring to the living room. Only a few people stayed after. Harry and Ron began a game of chess in the corner, Arthur sat in his easy chair, talking to Remus on the couch about the possibility of merging magic and muggle technology, and Hermione tried to convince Molly to let her help clean up in the kitchen, like Ginny was.

"But Molly, you always say I'm as good as another daughter. If you really felt that way, you'd have me helping you in here." Hermione's voice came in through the door between rooms, effectively disrupting Arthur and Remus' conversation.

"Now, dear, you know that's not true. As long as you're a guest here, you won't lift a finger with the clean-up. Besides, Ginny and I have a good system worked out. Now shoo, get out in the living room with everyone else."

"But Molly-"

"The only butt I care about is yours, in the living room." Molly said as she pushed Hermione through the door into the living room. Hermione looked around the room as if lost for a moment before grumpily making her way over to the couch and stonily sitting down at Remus' side.

"Is something wrong?" Remus asked, turning to face her, barely concealing a smile. Hermione only responded with a look that very clearly said "Shut up. You know what's wrong." She looked past Remus to Arthur and asked him why Molly wouldn't let her help.

"Well, dear, I think she made her reasons perfectly clear. My Molly's a stubborn woman, she doesn't like accepting help when she can do something for herself." Arthur said, not without a hint of affection for the woman.

"No, that's not it." Hermione said, waving the notion away as quickly as it came. "She's been distant with me since Ron and I broke up last year. She-"

"Now Hermione," Remus broke in, "you know that's not true. Molly adores you, as does everyone else here. Nobody is trying to shut you out, least of all her. I'm sure that in Molly's eyes, you're too wonderful to be shut up n the kitchen and she's giving you the honor of playing hostess while she is otherwise occupied. So put a smile on that pretty face of yours and start doing just that."

Hermione cracked a smile. "You think that's it?"

"I'm certain of it." Remus said, stretching an arm across the back of the couch, "now, Miss Hostess, how about getting me a cup of after-dinner tea?"

Instead of getting up to get his tea, Hermione playfully smacked his stomach before leaning against him.

"You lazy bum, that's all you wanted in the first place! I'm not getting it for you now. Besides," she said, snuggling deep into his side, "I'm comfortable here. I don't think I'll be moving for quite a while." As if to prove her point, Hermione let out a big yawn.

Remus glanced up from the woman at his side in time to see Arthur's calculating look. He awkwardly cleared his throat and began talking to Arthur again.

"Right, so what were you saying about merging magic and muggle appliances?"

The two had an animated conversation, with Hermione occasionally giving her input, still curled into Remus. After an hour or so, Remus turned to get Hermione's input and found her sleeping. He looked helplessly up at Arthur, who chuckled softly.

"Take her upstairs and put her in Ginny's room for the night." he told Remus.

Remus turned and scooped her up bridal-style to carry her upstairs. As he stood, Hermione nestled herself into his chest. His breath caught as he felt a surge of affection for the woman. Remus caught himself and headed upstairs. He nudged the door open with his foot and gently laid her down on the bed. Remus couldn't help but to watch her sleeping for a few minutes. She looked like an angel with her hair splayed out around her head and such a peaceful look on her face. Evidently, he took longer than he thought because he hear Arthur's footsteps coming into the room. Remus hastily turned around with a slightly guilty look on his face.

"Don't be ashamed, son." Arthur told him, "I often watch Molly when she's sleeping, too."

"No, we're not- I mean it's not like that."

Arthur just gave him a knowing look.

"That doesn't mean you don't want it to be." he said before walking out the door and downstairs. With one last, backward glance, Remus followed.

As the two men reached the living room, Remus let out a big yawn.

"I think it's about time I headed to bed as well. Good night Arthur. Molly," he said, stooping to kiss the cheek of the woman who seemed to be knitting a scarf for Hagrid, "thank you for having me over for yet another wonderful meal."

"Oh, tosh, dear," she replied, "you know you're as good as family and are welcome here any time you feel like it."

"Thank you Molly." he said, gathering his jacket up in his arms.

"Oh, before you go, Remus, what you say to having lunch together Tuesday?" Though Arthur phrased it as a question, his tone left little room for argument.

"Sure thing Arthur, I'll see you then."

Without another word, Remus apparated away, to what he was sure would be another sleepless night.

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A/N: Well, there you have it, the beginning of our story. What do you think so far?


	4. Chapter 2: Conversations

It All Started With an Owl… Chapter 2

A/N: I am very sorry for the delay. Didn't anticipate it being this long between updates, and I'm sorry to say that I'm not sure when the next one will be. The characters have decided to deviate from the plan I had set for the story, so we're trying to come up with a compromise that will work for all of us, and, hopefully, you. Please bear with me in this.

Disclaimer: I own a car, which is named Lazarus because he died and was miraculously brought back to life. That's about it. No Harry Potter or any of his friends (or enemies).

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Amber, who just found this story last chapter and left me a review that made me grin for about 2 days. Thank you very much!

* * *

At exactly 8 o'clock Monday morning, Hermione strode into the Minister's office.

"Good Morning. I trust you didn't forget our meeting."  
"Of course not, Hermione. Please," he gestured to the chair opposite his desk, "have a seat."

"Thank you." Hermione said as she sat down.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" he asked, the smiling playing at his lips showing that he was just teasing her.

"You know damn well what, Harry!" She cried out. "How could you do that without asking me first? We've been friends for almost 13 years and you don't even think to ask me if I'll speak! What am I even supposed to say?"

"Look, Hermione, everyone knows my story already. What they don't know is that it wasn't just me and the few of us who faced Voldemort at the end. They don't know how tirelessly you worked to make sure I could beat him, they don't know what went on behind the scenes. If I say it, it just looks like I'm being humble, which makes them idolize me even more. If you tell that part, accurately, you can open people's eyes up to the fact that I am not the only one who had an important part in defeating Voldemort. That's all I want from you." After saying his piece, Harry sat back and let Hermione think it over.

After a long moment, Hermione agreed. "Fine. But only because I think people should stop hero-worshipping you so I can go out with my best friend again." Instead of the pleased look she expected to receive, Harry's brow furrowed a bit.

"Speaking of going out, you aren't seeing anyone right now, are you?"

"No. Why?" She asked.

"Well," he spoke slowly, "there are going to be a lot of up-and-coming wizards looking to gain any influence they can that they think will help their ministry careers. Some of them will probably be trying to impress you, seeing you as a friend to the Minister of Magic, and key player in the War. Unless…" he trailed off, letting Hermione get it herself.

"Unless there's a man on my arm I'm seen as being completely devoted to." She made a face. "Men suck."

"You could always bring a woman." He said, playful grin back in place.

"Harry! That wasn't what I meant and you know it! Look, I'll think about it, ok? We'll see if I manage to find a suitable date in the next few months."

With no more business to discuss, Hermione stood up to leave. Harry stood as well and walked her to the office door.

"See you Friday for dinner at Molly's?" she asked at the door.

"Of course. Much as I love her, Ginny's cooking still doesn't compare. Besides, then we'd have to come up with a reason both of us were missing a dinner. Molly still doesn't know we're living together."

"She'll kill you when she finds out you're keeping her daughter a dishonest woman."

"Well, hopefully we won't have that problem for long." Harry said, taking a small box out of his pocket and showing it to Hermione.

"Oh, Harry it's gorgeous. Ginny will love it. I'm happy for you both. You really do deserve each other in the best way."  
"Thanks. Now scoot, I'm sure your books are missing you."

Hermione just laughed as she walked out the door.

Harry sighed as he closed the door and leaned his head against it. "That was close." he breathed.

* * *

At 11:56 Monday morning, the flames in Remus' fireplace cane to life and Arthur's head appeared.

"Remus, Remus, are you there?" He asked hurriedly.

"Yes, Arthur, I'm here. Where else would I be this time of day?"  
"Yes, well, something came up, there's going to be a big meeting at work tomorrow. All the department heads are meeting over lunch. Is it alright with you if we change our lunch to today?"

"Why put off the inevitable?" Remus muttered to himself, but to Arthur's face, he just said "That's fine. Why don't you come on over whenever you're ready?"

"Wonderful! Thanks for being so understanding!" With that, Arthur's head disappeared and the flames petered out.

"No problem." Remus said to the empty grate before standing up to go put a kettle on the stove for some tea.

A few minutes after the kettle started whistling (Mary Had a Little Lamb, of all things), Arthur appeared.

"Sorry for the intrusion on your day, and thanks again for understanding."

"It's no problem at all." Remus told him. "I hope you don't mind having stew for lunch, that's what I was making before you popped over the first time."

"Not at all, stew sounds wonderful. Thank you."

"Alright then. Please, have a seat while I dish it up."  
"Thank you Remus, don't mind if I do." Arthur said, pulling a chair out from the table and setting himself down on it.

The two made idle chatter as Remus set out bread, butter, pewter-ware, and dished out the stew. They ate in silence a few minutes before Remus spoke up.

"We both know you didn't just come here to eat stew with an old friend. What is it you have to say?"  
"Well, now that you mention it, there was something from the other night I wanted to talk to you about." He paused, as though awaiting permission to continue.  
"Go ahead Arthur." Remus sighed.

"Well, you and Hermione seemed to be pretty close the other night."  
"That's because we are. She's a good friend and a sweet girl." The words felt bitter on his tongue. True though they were, he couldn't help but feel they were less than she deserved.

"That she is," Arthur agreed, "but between the way she leaned on you- a girl only leans on a man like that if she _really_ trusts him- and how you looked at her, it seemed as if there were more than that between the two of you."

"Arthur, she's nearly 20 years younger than me- she was my student for Merlin's sake! What, exactly, do you think is going on between us?"

"I think you care for her more than you'd like to admit, even to yourself." Arthur replied before taking a long drink from his teacup.

Remus' sigh admitted defeat. He was about to respond when a pop sounded in the living room followed by a voice calling out "Remus, are you home? Where are you?"

"In the kitchen. Come on in." He called back.

"I have a favor to ask." Hermione said, walking through the door and perching herself effortlessly on the countertop, as if it was something she had a habit of doing, Arthur noticed. "Oh, hello Arthur. I didn't mean to intrude on your lunch, I can come back later." She said, sliding off the counter.

"Nonsense, dear. Actually, Remus was just telling me some very juicy gossip about you."

"Really?" She asked, glancing curiously at Remus before looking back at Arthur. "I hope you didn't believe him."  
Arthur let out a laugh. "Not a word my dear, not a word."

"Right. Well, like I said a moment ago, I have to ask Remus something. In private, if it's alright." She said, looking hard at Remus.

"Right. If you'll excuse us Arthur." He stood up to leave.

"Of course. Take all the time you need." Arthur said as the two walked into the living room. He laughed to himself as Remus to her arm to guide her through the door.

Once in the living room, Remus made sure to shut the door gently but firmly before leading Hermione to the couch.

When they were seated, Remus looked at Hermione. She looked at the carpet, the coffee table, anywhere but him. After a long moment where it became clear she wasn't going to begin any time soon, Remus gently prompted her.

"Hermione, you had something to ask me?"  
"Yes, well, it- it's nothing, really. I should let you get back to Arthur. I'll come back later when nobody's visiting." She said this quickly and made to get up. Remus grabbed her wrist to keep her where she was.

"Now, love, that makes no sense. You and I are both here already and Arthur's said he doesn't mind waiting a few minutes. What is it you need to ask me?"

Hermione took a deep breath and let it our before answering.

"Will you go to the Ministry Ball with me?"  
"See, now that wasn't so- what?" He stopped mid-sentence after realizing, what, exactly, she had asked him.

"Will you go to the Ministry Ball with me?" She asked again, with slightly more confidence as she had already managed to utter the words once already.

"You could go with any man in the world," he said, blinking, still somewhat in shock, "why are you asking me?"

"Remus, you are not a dumb man. Surely you realize that almost all of the men who might wish to take me are working their way up in the Ministry and simply want me on their arm as a power play. Ron, Harry, and I have always gone together in the past, so I didn't have to worry about it. This year, though, Ginny's made it clear she wants Harry all to herself, and I'm not about to go with just Ron."

"So you asked me." Remus stated, both his mind and heart racing. "Alright. I'll go with you."

"One thing you might want to think about before you agree to that. I need you to act like you are at least enamored with me." If Remus had been drinking anything, he surely would have choked on it at those words. As it was, the air supply in the room seemed to have diminished greatly in the past few seconds.

Hermione hurried to explain herself. "If it seems as thought we aren't- committed- to each other, those aforementioned men might still get it in their heads to attempt to persuade me to join them for the evening."

"I see." Remus said slowly. "Are you sure you want to be seen- enamored, as you said, with a middle-aged werewolf at one of the most publicized events of the year?"

"Remus, you are hardly middle-aged, and I would never have asked if I wasn't sure of the idea."

"Well, then, my dear, it would be my honor to take you to the ball. Just don't turn into a pumpkin at midnight on me." Hermione laughed at his mixed-up reference.

"All right, I'll do my best." Thank you Remus." She said, kissing his cheek before standing to leave. He stood as well. "See you on Friday?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'll be there. He told her.

"Great, I'll see you then." She said before disapparating.

After she left, Remus walked back into the kitchen in somewhat of a daze. He sat down heavily in his chair.

"Well," Arthur asked, "what did she have to ask you that would evoke such a reaction in my normally unshakable friend?"

"She asked me to go to the Ministry Ball with her. We also have to seem to be in a committed relationship."  
"Why is that a problem? Weren't you just about to tell me how in love with the girl you are?"

"Yes, but Arthur, that's just it. She's a_ girl_." He said, stressing the last word and earning a confused look from Arthur. Remus sighed. "She's a girl, still growing into womanhood, and I am nearly twenty years her senior." He said. _Not to mention a werewolf_, he added mentally.

"She's not your normal 23-year-old, Remus, you know that. And the fact that she asked you means that she doesn't care about your age difference. One thing does strike me as odd, though." Arthur said thoughtfully.

"Yes, and what's that?" Remus asked.

"I can't say as I've ever heard of any couple that's been in a committed relationship the first time they go out in public together."

Remus visibly paled, then brightened considerably.

"You're right. We'll have to go out before that. She may even come to see me as more than a friend." He said hopefully.

"I may be overstepping my bounds," Arthur told him, "but if last Friday was any indication, she may be well on her way to just that.

"You think so?" Remus asked. Arthur nodded his head.

"That I do. Well," he said, standing up, "I do believe my lunch break is just about over. Will I be seeing you at dinner on Friday. I believe Molly's planning on roasting chicken."  
"Count me in," Remus told him. "I already told Hermione I'd be there." At this, Arthur quirked an eyebrow. "Have a good week, and send Molly my love."

"Will do." he said, picking up the cloak he had draped over the back of his chair. "Oh, and Remus?"

"Yes, Arthur?" Remus asked, looking up from the dishes he was clearing away.

"Don't wait too long to begin courting Hermione. A girl like her doesn't deserve to be kept waiting." With that, Arthur disappeared, leaving only a popping sound and a thoughtful Remus in his wake.

* * *

A/N: Again I say, I am so very sorry for the long wait, and I apologize in advance that I don't know how long it will be until the next one. Life, you know? Anyways, let me know what you think about this chapter, or what you think should or could happen with our lovely obtuse couple. Oh, and did it make you laugh as much as I was laughing when I was writing it, or do I just have a weird sense of humor? 


	5. Chapter 3: Hidden Motives

A/N: I am SOOOO sorry that it's taken so long for an update! I should shoot myself in the foot for not writing for so long! Except that would hurt…Anyways, I am sorry. There's been a lot of stuff going on in my life from going to college to dropping out of college to my stepdad having a heart attack and dying to my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew moving in with us (And of course, Deathly Hallows wreaked havoc with my mind- I generally ignore almost everything from it, so I'd suggest you do the same while reading my fic). Life's been crazy and I'm sorry it's gotten in the way of writing. I'm back for now, though, so hopefully you don't hate me too much.

If anyone can spot the quote from one of my favorite movies, I'll give you a virtual cookie, or a shout-out next update, whichever you'd prefer. ;)

Also, I wrote something in the beginning of this chapter that I am very much against. I'm working to reconcile it in this fic, though I don't know if I'll fully be able to. If you are able to spot it (whether you know what it is that gets me, or if it's something that gets to you as well and you feel the need to point it out to me), I will grant you a (brief) guest appearance in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides my POS vehicle and a computer that can never decide whether it will do what I want it to or not. Oh, and a distinct hatred of the snowy winter we're having here in the Midwest US, I have that as well.

Dedication: To my friend, who, if he weren't ignoring me, I wouldn't have given up on him and been angsty enough to be able to write from an are-we/ aren't we perspective and wanting more than there is... anywho, ONWARD!!

* * *

Remus thought and paced and paced and thought, but he still couldn't come up with a way to approach Hermione. _Honesty. Just come clean with the girl. It probably didn't cross her mind that you two should see each other more before the ball. Publicly. Affectionately. Romantically. Well, old boy, here's your chance to find out the chances she may not be _entirely_ opposed to a relationship with you._

With that thought, Remus summoned all the courage in his body (and a bit of liquid courage from Ogden's Old) and wrote a short note to Hermione.

Dear Hermione,

I've been thinking about what we discussed the other day and I do believe we have some details to work out. Come over to my place after you get off work tonight if you are available and we'll discuss matters over dinner. Otherwise, send me an owl as to when would be a good time to get together soon. If nothing else, I'll see you at Molly and Arthur's place Friday.

Remus

Satisfied that he said what was needed while not revealing anything incriminating, Remus gave the note to his owl, Manumit, to find Hermione at work with instructions to wait for a reply.

* * *

"Really, I'm flattered by the offer, Jared, but I'm afraid I have plans for the evening already." Hermione told one of her co-workers, gently pushing him back with a hand on his shoulder to emphasize her point.

"Oh, what plans are these that are keeping me away from a wonderful evening in your company?" Jared asked, stepping forward slightly once again.

"Well," Hermione hedged, glancing around for inspiration and spotting Remus' owl flying outside the nearest window, "I'm spending the evening with a very good friend of mine. We'll likely spend the evening at his flat, eating a homemade meal, drinking wine, and, um, _talking_ late into the night." The story that came so easily from her lips seemed suspiciously like a dream she had not long ago and subsequently spent the past few days thinking about in her spare time, manipulating the talking into something else entirely.

Jared bought the story, which was completed by a small smile dancing around her mouth as she was apparently thinking of the night ahead.

"Oh. Well, I suppose I'll see you later then." With that, he quickly turned around and walked out the door, muttering something that sounded a lot like "Stupid, of course she has a boyfriend."

As Hermione opened the window to actually let Manumit in, she wondered if, after some thought, Remus was backing out of the arrangement. She also wondered what it would take for the scenario she had just laid out for her co-worker to become reality.

She untied the letter from the bird's foot and opened it with some amount of trepidation. After quickly scanning the letter and not finding that he wanted to break their date, so to speak, but was inviting her over for the evening, Hermione realized that she hadn't actually lied to Jared- she just hadn't known she might be telling the truth.

Grabbing for a quill and some parchment, Hermione quickly penned a note for the owl to bring back to Remus.

Dear Remus,

I would be delighted to come over and talk with you this evening. I'll see you shortly after 6:30 this evening.

Love,  
Hermione

The rest of the day dragged along for Hermione, who alternated between looking forward to spending the evening with Remus and anxious about what it was he wanted to talk about. What were the details? Her dress color? Goodness, she didn't even know that yet. What could it possibly be? But, oh, he invited her over to his place for dinner and conversation. Should she go home beforehand to freshen up? Did she want to look like she was trying to impress him?

Hermione ended up going home after work, taking a quick shower and spending 15 minutes staring at her closet before remembering she had told Remus a specific time that she'd arrive. Quickly grabbing a nice pair of jeans and a blouse, Hermione changed and apparated to Remus' door. Barely had she raised her hand to knock than the door opened before her.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," she said as he led her in and took her outer robes.  
"Nonsense, you're perfectly on time. And if I may say so, you look lovely tonight."

"Thank you very much Remus. You look nice as well," she said as she sat to the side of the couch as he seated himself in an armchair close by. "Ooh dinner smells delicious, what are you making?"

"Garlic roasted chicken with stuffing and fresh bread. It should be ready in about ten minutes. In the meantime, why don't you catch me up on what you're working on these days?"

As Hermione launched into a diatribe on her job overall and her current project, researching the Cruciatus Curse and seeing if any reversal of the effects it caused was at all possible, Remus attempted to listen attentively and keep his gaze firmly locked on her face. This was a much more difficult task than he had anticipated, as he hadn't thought about the fact that she might wear clothes that were- stimulating, for lack of a better word. That cream blouse wasn't too bad if not for the fact that the imprint of the lace of her bra was visible through the thin fabric, but the jeans she wore clung to her shapely legs. He quickly averted his gaze as a flush spread across his face from the thoughts he was beginning to have about her.

"… And poor Neville's so invested in this project, I'm afraid to- Remus? Are you all right? You seem a little off."

"What? No, no I'm fine. Just a bit warm is all. Really, now continue with what you were saying." Hermione eyed Remus as though unsure that he really was fine, but he seemed to pass inspection and she continued talking about her fear of letting Neville down if nothing turned up.

"Hermione, you do know that by virtue of you working on this, there is no way that that boy will be disappointed. He knows you will work with everything you have to figure something out. If you can't find anything, no one will think any less of you. You can't fix every injustice in the world, though I know you're going to try."

"I know Remus, it's just… I don't want to fail at something so important to so many people. Nobody deserves to be hit with that curse. Harry and Ron work at keeping people who do that sort of thing from doing it again. I want to find a way to heal the people who've already suffered at the hands of those monsters." Remus got out of his chair and sat next to Hermione, pulling her into a tight hug when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Love, you will NOT fail, no matter what happens with your research. You will find answers, which is what people need. Love them, put your heart into the people and you will do more healing than you could ever imagine." With no more words to be said on the subject, Remus held Hermione in his arms, feeling her draw strength from his confidence in her abilities and her heart. They remained that way for several minutes until a timer went off in the kitchen.

"That's our supper. You can remain here for a few moments or follow me into the kitchen, whichever you would prefer." Remus untangled himself from Hermione's arms and stood. Hermione automatically followed him to the kitchen, hopping up to the perch on the countertop she had had when Arthur was over the other day for lunch.

Remus pulled a perfectly golden-brown chicken from the oven with the stuffing in a separate pan because he knew Hermione didn't like the idea of it cooking inside the bird.

_Sweet mother of Merlin,_ Hermione thought to herself as she watched Remus move around the kitchen effortlessly, _he's_ _intelligent, sexy, caring, and a natural in the kitchen. Is there anything this man can't do? _Hermione sighed softly and rested her head against the cupboard behind her as she continued to watch him move proficiently around the kitchen making last minute preparations for their dinner.

After just a few more minutes, their food was plated up and Remus asked Hermione whether she'd rather eat in the kitchen or dining room.

"The kitchen's fine," she said and he set the two plates down on the island in the middle of the kitchen and pulled out two stools for them to sit on. Hermione moved to get down from the counter she was on and emitted a squeak.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, concernedly looking her way.

"I'm stuck."

"Pardon?" He couldn't possibly have heard her correctly. How was she stuck?

"My hair, it's gotten caught on the cupboard handle." He quickly smothered the smile that was making its way across his face- somehow, he didn't think it would be appreciated at that moment- and made his way over to survey the damage.

"Well it doesn't look like it's tangled too badly. I should be able to free you without cutting it." Hermione's eyes got big.

"Don't cut it. It looks simply awful short! Do anything else, please."

"Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist, it'll just take me a moment." Remus tried very hard to concentrate on untangling her hair from his cupboard, but was distracted by the feel of her legs on either side of his waist as he worked and her shallow breathing just inches away from his face. The fact that he had to wrap an arm around her to get the best angle wasn't exactly helping his mind focus on the task at hand either. In what seemed an eternity to the both of them, but was really only a minute and a half, Remus freed her hair. He stroked her hair for a moment afterward. Just as he was about to give in to his mind, which was screaming at him to kiss her already, she spoke.

"Remus?" she asked softly.  
"Hmmm?"  
"What are you doing?" Remus started and grabbed hold of the reality of the situation.

"Erm, just en- ensuring it's all free is all. I think you're good." With that, he hastily backed up to give her ample room to get down. "Shall we?" He asked, gesturing to the table.

"We shall," she replied as she slid off the counter without further incident and walked over to the table at sat down.

The pair ate in silence for a while, punctuated only by sounds of pleasure by Hermione.

"Remus, this is absolutely delicious," she praised him, "Why don't I let you cook for me more often? This is so much better than almost anything I can create in a kitchen."

"You're exaggerating. I'm not that great of a cook," he said, looking intently at his food so as to ignore the admiring look she was sending his way. No, he certainly couldn't deal with that at the moment.

"Really, Remus, this tastes amazing. I don't think your culinary skills are the topic you wanted to discuss tonight, however. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Hermione hoped her fears about Remus changing his mind didn't show through to her face or voice.

_Not yet. Not yet. I'm not ready yet. Oh well, I never will be. Here goes nothing._ Remus thought to himself. "Erm, yes. As I mentioned in my owl, I was thinking about what you said regarding our- behavior at the ball."

"Yes, and what specifically were you thinking about?" _Breath, Hermione, Breathe. That's the key. Just keep breathing._

"Well, for us to act as serious about each other as you indicated you wished," _and that I wish as well for real,_ "I realized that we would have to be seen together in that light before the ball or it won't be believable." _Just wait Remus. Wait for her reaction. Don't rush her. You've said all your important bits. Just wait and see what she thinks about that idea._

"I see. And what did you decide about this?" _Stay calm Hermione. Don't let him see he's rattled you._

"W-what? What do you mean, what did I decide?" _This is a turn I certainly wasn't expecting. What do I say to not give myself away?_

"Well, obviously, if you've thought about the fact that we would have to essentially pretend to date, you've had a reaction as to whether or not you're amenable to the idea." _That's it Hermione. Leave it up to him to answer._

"Well, yes, but it's not entirely up to me. You are the young witch in question. As I mentioned before, Hermione, you are an appealing young woman and have your choice of young men to be with. Would you give that up to pretend to be in a relationship with me?" Hermione sighed softly, but not so quietly that Remus didn't hear it.

"Hermione?"

"Remus, I told you yesterday that I have no interest in any of the men who might be interested in me." _Save the one sitting at the table with me. _"I see no reason why the two of us cannot spend time together on a regular basis in the public eye. We have, after all, been good friends for nearly a decade, we've known each other longer than that, and I would enjoy seeing you more often than I have been lately." _It will be nice, even if you don't actually feel that way about me. A girl can dream._

"All right then. When do you suppose we should 'come out' to the world?" _Even if she doesn't feel the same way, I get to pretend she does and the rest of the world will think she's in love with me. Ah, if only she were. Oh well, I'll take what I can get._

"Are you available tomorrow? I have a few books backordered at Flourish and Blott's and I got an owl at work today saying that they're in. We could go pick them up after I get off work and then go out to eat." _Way to go Hermione, show him how eager you are to spend more time with him._

"That sounds good. When are you done working for the day?'

"That entirely depends on what, if anything, has been accomplished and if I get too wrapped up in what I'm working on. How about if I owl you half an hour before I leave, will that be alright?"

"That will be fine. Would you like more," Remus asked, noticing that her plate was devoid of any food, "or if you'd prefer, I have some pie in the refrigerator?"

"Oh, pie sounds lovely, but I'm rather full at the moment." Hermione said apologetically.

"We can adjourn to the living room for a while if you'd like, then have some dessert in a bit." _Please don't let that have sounded too clingy or as though I don't want her to leave… Well, I definitely don't, but I hope she doesn't realize the extent of that._

"Wonderful plan, Remus."

Remus moved to get up and Hermione followed his lead and walked into the living room as he cleared the table, looking at his bookshelves as she waited for him to come in.

"Make yourself at home, I'll just be a minute," Remus called to her from the kitchen.

Hermione found an old book that looked as though it had been thumbed through many times before and brought it to the couch with her. Hermione slipped her flats off her feet and set them by the corner of the couch she was at. Tucking her feet up underneath her body, Hermione opened the front cover and began reading, which is how Remus found her as he came in a few minutes later. She didn't look up until she felt him sit down beside her.

"Well, I did say to make yourself at home," Remus said, as a flush spread across her face.

"It's rather easy when I find my favorite book on your bookshelves. Actually, it's amazing. I seem to have misplaced mine awhile ago and suddenly I find a copy just as well-worn hiding on your shelves."

"Yeah, weird," Remus said, a flush now creeping up his neck and face. "Who would have guessed we both have well-worn copies of the same muggle book?" Hermione just sighed and shook her head at his obvious discomfort.

"Remus…"

"Okay, I took it last Halloween when we were waiting for you to finish getting dressed." They both smiled in reminiscence of Ron's first finding out about the muggle tradition of dressing up in costumes and getting free candy and the actual outing.

"Why didn't you ever return it- or tell me? I was looking all over the place for it!"

"I'm sorry Hermione, I just…" _I can't tell her I wanted to keep a part of her with me. What do I say? Right, the other truth._ "I only got about halfway through and didn't want to give it back until we could talk about it."

"You only got halfway through?" she exclaimed. "Les Miserables is a classic! It's amazing, there's so much detail, and you can actually see France in your mind's eye while reading! The characters are so well written. How in the world didn't you finish it?"

"I got busy, lost time to read for pleasure. It's not as though I'm still looked down upon by all of society and have nothing to do but read novels." It was true, Hermione thought to herself. Remus was doing very well for himself since he, Snape, and a few others with various specialties had worked together and come out with a lot of research on werewolves. People were getting more comfortable with the idea of werewolves integrating into society after one of them saved the life of Harry Potter and fought Voldemort's minions rather than siding with them. It showed that werewolves are not inherently evil, but can be swayed to a certain side, just as non-werewolves were. Remus' kind and gentle nature didn't hurt the cause either, Hermione was sure.

"Well, you're going to finish it now." Hermione said authoritatively.

"Now?" he asked, wondering if she meant at that moment.

"Not _now_ now, but soon now. I really want you to finish it. This book has been my favorite since I was a child and my parents took me to the stage show in London. I begged for the book and it's even more amazing than the show was. You just have to finish reading it; I know you'll love it as much as I do." Hermione turned from the book in her hands to look at Remus with wide, pleading eyes that he found himself unable to refuse, even if he'd wanted to.

"Fine. I was meaning to get back to it soon anyways. If it will make you happy, it's at the top of my reading list." He was prepared for the wide grin she sent his way, but not the arms that wound around his neck in a quick hug. He barely got used to the feel of her body leaning against his before she was back leaning against the armrest of the couch.

"That's great Remus, I just know you'll love it!" she exclaimed, running her hands over the book that she loved so much. Changing topics, she asked Remus' opinion on Harry's announcement at the Weasley dinner the previous week that she would speak at the Heroes Ball.

"Well," he started, turning to face her a little better, "while it was somewhat unexpected, I think he had the right idea. You do know, better than almost anyone, how You-Know-Who was brought down. You orchestrated it. You spent endless hours researching everything you could on what we knew about him. Harry might have been the one to land the final blow, but you made it happen. It's time people hear what really happened."

"I wasn't the only one who worked my tail off to make it happen. You make it sound like I did everything on my own. You know better than that. I was just a piece of it."

"You were an important piece. And one of the ones that people are most willing to listen to because of how close you and Harry are. Tell them that. Let everyone know that you were just a piece of it, just like Harry and so many others were."

"I can do that. But you're going to help me."

"What?"

"Remus, don't be ridiculous. I can't remember everything as it happened on my own. I need your help, your memories. You were with me most of the time, doing as much as I was, but differently. You saw some different aspects of what was happening and you helped lead me to what I needed. I couldn't do it without you then, and I can't now." She made a convincing argument, Remus thought, and he said so.

"All right, but I'd prefer if this was something we did in private, not something we talk about in public. Everyone will find out the details later, we don't need to talk about the war as we're trying to convince the public that we're together." He hesitated a bit on that last part, but got it out without any noticeable difficulty._ Ah Remus, better get used to pretending to be with her, but knowing you're really not._

"All right then, what should we talk about when we go out?" Hermione asked, stretching her feet out a little bit. Remus took hold of the appendages pressing into his thighs and set them on his lap before beginning to gently massage the left one. To her credit, Hermione made no outward notice of this, besides a soft gasp as he grabbed her feet and a soft sigh as Remus began working the aches of 8 ½ hours standing on her feet out.

"I don't know, I suppose we'll have to make it up as we go. Most people don't plan out conversations they're going to have on a date beforehand. As that's what we're doing, I think we should act accordingly." _Very sensible man_, Hermione thought to herself. _And he acknowledged that we're going to be going on dates, he didn't even mention pretending! Whoa girl, slow down, don't make yourself fall for him even harder, you are, after all, only pretending. Oh gods, that feels so good._

"Mmm, I suppose you're right. Ooh, where in the world did you learn to give such amazing foot rubs? I've never had one that didn't tickle even just a bit before."

"Trust me, love you don't want to know." He glanced at her face to see a small pout on her mouth marring the blissful expression covering the rest of her face, so he gave in. "Sirius used to get horrible cramps in his feet- or at least that's what he told us. He'd make James, Peter, and myself give him foot rubs to relieve the ache. He'd kick if he felt we were being too careless with his precious feet. Scarred us, it did, him doing that our first night at Hogwarts, before we even knew each other properly."

Hermione laughed outright at his story and Remus felt warm and content at the sound and knowing he'd made her laugh. _That's the prettiest laugh I've ever heard._

"I've just told you about my first night at Hogwarts, what was yours like?" Remus asked Hermione as he set her left foot back down on his lap and picked up the right one to begin working on it.

"Well," she began, closing her eyes in reminiscence, "I'd read Hogwarts: A History twice before even getting on the train, so I thought I knew what to expect, but I was still blown away by the enormity of the castle and the brilliance of the Great Hall's ceiling at night- though I pretended not to be in awe like the other kids and spouted off every fact I could think of about the school in hopes that someone would be impressed with my knowledge. I stood next to Neville during the sorting; we'd met on the train when he was looking for his toad."

"Yes, I remember he had a hard time keeping track of that animal. What was its name again?"

"Trevor. Trevor the Toad. Anyway, I was debating which of the houses I thought I'd like to get into. Ravenclaw was an obvious choice, but Hufflepuff seemed to have good morals, which I prided myself on (I think I was a bit too proud to be a true Hufflepuff). I honestly didn't even think about Gryffindor as an option before the hat placed me there." Remus made a surprised noise in the back of his throat, so instead of continuing on, Hermione clarified her eleven-year-old position. "I didn't particularly see myself as being very brave. Looking back on it though, I suppose there was a bit of bravery for a pre-teenage daughter of muggle dentists leaving the world she knew for something completely different than anything she'd even heard about. I spent much of the dinner thinking about why I was placed in Gryffindor and observing the others in my house, making the occasional smart comment when I felt it was warranted. I followed Percy up to the tower and he instructed us to the dormitories, where I got acquainted with my new roommates. I was horrified," she said laughing at her self-righteousness as a child. "Lavender and Parvati were nothing like what I had imagined my roommates should be like. They were _girls_. I quickly shut myself up with a book attempting to ignore them comparing wardrobes and nail polish and the like. That was pretty much how my first few months at Hogwarts were like."

"Wow. Didn't you get lonely? I can't imagine such an existence for such a lovely person as yourself."

"Well, of course I got lonely. Despite how much I loved my books, I was alone in a new environment. I think I clung to knowledge as a coping mechanism. I couldn't bear to be alone, so I spent my time with books and homework. It was that experience, as well as actually getting to know and really live with Lavender and Parvati that helped turn me into the, quote 'lovely person' I am now. Harry and Ron definitely helped me gain more people skills as well."

"I'm sure. Those two can be quite a handful, I can only imagine trying to tame them during their growing up years. You did a remarkable job."

"It definitely wasn't all me. Ginny and Molly definitely had a hand or two in the mix, trying to make those boys behave. And they did amazing at it as well. I could never seem to inspire the fear those two could in the boys. Of course, I don't have Molly's amazing skills in the kitchen either. Speaking of, that pie would be wonderful right about now, if you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all, I'll be right back. Would you like some tea or coffee with it?" Remus asked, gently setting her feet back on the couch as he moved to get up.

"I think coffee might be nice, with cream and a bit of sugar. I can help, if you'd like." In all actuality, Hermione was having too nice a time with Remus to want to part with his company, if even for a few minutes.

Remus didn't particularly want to be separated from Hermione for his part, either, so he responded affirmatively. "Coffee does sound good tonight. Why don't you pour it as I serve up the dessert? That way we'll be done twice as fast."

Hermione agreed and followed him into the kitchen. As he got two small plates out from a cupboard near the fridge, Hermione opened up the cabinet her hair had gotten stuck on earlier and fished out two coffee cups. She also grabbed a spatula from the drawer next to her and set it on the island just a few feet away for Remus to use. As Hermione poured two cups of coffee, Remus took the pie from the refrigerator, as well as a small pitcher of cream. He plated it up and put the pie back just as Hermione was getting out a tray and set the coffee, with cream and a sugar bowl on it. She set the two plates on the tray and was about to pick it up when Remus tossed two forks and spoons on it and grabbed the tray from under her hands as he ushered her into the living room. As Hermione sat down, Remus placed the tray he was carrying on the coffee table next to the copy of Les Miserables Hermione had set down before going into the kitchen. He handed her the plate and a fork and took the other piece for himself.

* * *

A/N: Again, I'm so sorry for the massive delay, but I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. It still feels really awkward to me, but it's taken a few weeks of fairly consistent writing/editing to get to this level, so I'm making myself be satisfied. Any constructive criticism is welcome; flames will be used to heat my home so my toes don't freeze during this wonderfully snowy spring/ winter.

I'm fairly good at checking my own stuff, but there are only so many times a person can read the same thing until they're not actually reading what's there, but what they think is there (or just glazing over everything and assuming what you think is written is what's actually written). I get this way right about when I'm finished with a chapter from all the going back and rereading and double-checking and editing. If anyone is interested and qualified to beta read for me (meaning you have a good working knowledge of both the English language and Potterverse and have proof of this, such as a fic posted on here I can check out) I would appreciate if you let me know. Also, I pretty much have the story mapped out, but if you're willing to help me bounce a few ideas around once in a while, that would be appreciated as well. K thanks!


	6. Chapter 4: The Date

A/N: Hi there! Sorry it's taken me so long to come up with an update! For as anxious as you all were about reading 'the date' it was that hard to write- I knew what would happen, essentially, but fleshing it out gave me some trouble, and I hit a roadblock after (or rather, in) the bookstore… sigh… I just can't focus on what needs done when I'm in a bookstore, either real or imagined. I'm so sorry about that!

Also hindering the progress is something I'm a little more than a little embarrassed to admit. I had a hard time writing the date scene (and most of the scenes onward, I would assume) because I've never actually been on a date. I know, sad right? 21 years old and never been on a date. Wait, no, I take that back. There was a pity date a few years ago (oddly enough, I was the one who agreed on the date out of pity for the poor boy). Still, very sad, I know. Trust me, I know.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or situations you recognize.

Hermione stretched and hit the snooze on her alarm clock. She just didn't want to get up this morning. It had been a long night and she was in no hurry to start a new day. She'd much prefer staying in bed all morning remembering what a lovely evening she had had. After the pie and coffee were long forgotten, Remus had summoned a bottle of wine and two glasses for them to drink from. Conversation lasted into the wee hours of the morning as it often did when the two began conversing with nothing to distract them. Hermione finally made it home around 2:30 in the morning and fell into bed knowing she would have only four short hours of rest before her alarm would go off.

She got up when her alarm sounded a second time- she was not one to laze about when there was work to be done, no matter how enticing it seemed. She gathered her under garments and a soft robe and went to the bathroom for a shower. While standing under the warm spray, Hermione thought forward to the coming evening and found that despite how much time she had just spent with him, she was looking forward to spending more time with Remus after she got off work.

Hermione dressed carefully that morning, knowing that she had to be work appropriate yet would not have time to go home and change before her date with Remus that evening. She also paid special attention to her hair, knotting it up nicely on the back of her head instead of merely pulling it back into a ponytail.

The work day flew by far quicker than Hermione had anticipated. At quarter past five, she found herself writing a note to Remus, letting him know that she was just getting ready to clean up and would be leaving in half an hour, if he was still up for meeting her as they had discussed the previous night.

Just as she was putting away the last of her notes, Jared came up to her and asked if she would want to walk out with him. Hermione agreed; walking out with a coworker was nothing unusual. It would be ridiculous for her to refuse and the two of them walk out at the same time without speaking.

After a moment of awkward silence in which both were remembering Jared's asking her out the previous day, Jared spoke up. "You look very nice today. Are you doing anything special this evening?"

"I'm not doing anything special, just looking at books and going to dinner. I don't know what Remus will want to do for dinner, so I wanted to look nice." Hermione silently berated herself for wanting to look nice for the wizard she would be with and not where they were going.

"Oh." Jared said, spirits sinking as he continued the conversation, "Is this the same person you had dinner with last night as well?" He chanced a glance at Hermione as they were about to descend the stairs, hoping to gain insight from her facial expression whether he had any chance at all with her. His hopes were dashed as a light blush reigned over her face.

"Yes, it is. We've recently decided to start seeing more of each other outside our normal social circles, so I've been going to his house for the past few days. I had an errand to run tonight though, so he's coming with me and we're eating out when I'm finished at the bookstore."

"If this is a recent development, you're not too serious then?" Jared kept asking questions in the hope that Hermione would say something to let him know it wasn't entirely hopeless.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that," Hermione answered thoughtfully. "I absolutely adore talking to him, and he has some other wonderful skills that I adore." Hermione realized after a moment what she had implied, but didn't bother to clear up the fact that the main skill she was referring to was his culinary ability. Jared did need to back off a little bit, after all.

"Oh, I see." Jared said, sighing heavily in his mind but showing no outward emotion.

"Not to mention, he's punctual," Hermione said, spotting Remus looking at the bulletin board in the lobby of the research building annexed to St. Mungo's. "Come meet him, I'm sure you'll get along famously." Hermione thought nothing of the sort, but wanted to get it through her co-worker's head that she had a man in her life and didn't need or want him hitting on her. Jared was torn between going with Hermione to meet the man she was enamored with or appearing rude and just walking out. He didn't have time to decide before he was standing slightly left of Hermione and facing the side of an older man looking at the bulletin board.

Remus, noticing a presence coming up to him, waited until he was sure it was Hermione to turn- he didn't want to appear creepy, turning to look at anyone who walked past him. A smile plastered itself to his face as he took in her appearance.

"You look lovely," he said, pecking her cheek and giving her a quick hug, during which his eyes shot daggers at the man who had the audacity to be standing so close to _his_ Hermione. Remus kept an arm possessively around Hermione's waist when he heard Hermione's quick whisper to turn the man away.

"Jared, this is my good friend, Remus Lupin. Remus, Jared is one of the people working with me on the Cruciatus project."

Remus extended his right hand towards Hermione's co-worker while keeping his left firmly planted on her waist, slightly lower than it would ever have been allowed were they in a strictly platonic relationship. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Jared said, feeling his hand being squeezed more than he felt was entirely necessary. "It's always nice to meet one of Hermione's friends. How long have you two known each other?" he asked in an attempt to be polite while shaking his hand out of Remus' grip.

The two standing in front of Jared looked at each other at his question and seemed to have an entire conversation with just their eyes. The whole thing took just a few short moments, but it was enough for Jared to realize that he would never have that sort of connection with the pretty brunette.

"We met about eleven years ago, but didn't begin getting close until six or seven years ago."

"Oh? That's just before the war finally ended." Jared may not have had any hope left for a relationship with Hermione, but he certainly was intrigued. How do two people who have known each other that long and are obviously enamored of each other not get together until recently if they became close in a time when people were marrying quickly in an effort not to lose time together?

"Yes, we were working on a project together for the war effort and spent a lot of time in each others' company. We became quite close friends in that time." Hermione said this with a fond smile that Jared did not normally associate with people remembering the war, but he didn't want to crush himself further and asked no more questions.

"That's very interesting, and it was nice meeting you, Mr. Lupin, but I have plans for the evening and I don't want to be late." Granted, his evening consisted of pizza and a movie with a few of his cousins, but it was an escape from the couple who he was sure didn't realize how deeply in love they were.

"Of course." Remus said, inclining his head slightly.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you." Hermione said apologetically.

"No worries," Jared said flashing a grin at Hermione, "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he briskly walked to the apparition point and disappeared with a 'pop.'

" Now, shall we head off to Flourish and Blott's?" Remus asked, extending an elbow for her."Absolutely," she said, taking his proffered arm and walking with him to the apparition point. "Let's meet at our spot if we get separated." With that, she disappeared with a soft 'pop' and he followed shortly after.

As he arrived in the Alley, he immediately began looking for Hermione. He spotted her petite frame being swept along with the crowd and heading directly towards two bigger ones. He followed her quickly- good rarely came from a chance encounter with those two.

"Granger!" one of the figures exclaimed upon seeing her. She jumped at the sound- she was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the two figures until she was upon them.

"How are you, love?" the second asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder and attempting to guide her further down the alley. The first joined his brother on her other side.

"I'm fine George, Fred. I'm actually meeting someone at the bookstore shortly, so I've got to get going." she said, trying to squirm out of the identical holds on her shoulders.

"Really," George asked, holding her even more firmly in place at the news, "would this person happen to be of the male persuasion?" As a pink color overtook her face, they had the answer to that question, but so many more popped up in their minds. "Oy, Forge, did you know our little Hermione here has a gentleman friend that's not afraid to go in a bookstore?"

"Why, no, Gred; I had absolutely no idea she had any such person in her life. What do you suppose we should do to the bloke?"

"I don't think you should do anything to him." Remus said, having reached them and coming to Hermione's rescue from the two.

"Professor Moony!" both boys exclaimed upon seeing the former Marauder turned Hogwarts professor. "Fancy seeing you here. Come spare us a minute to see some of the new stuff we're working on."

"Sorry boys, I can't tonight. I've plans with a lovely witch, you see. Speaking of, would you mind releasing her so we can get on with our evening?" Fred and George were so shocked that the bloke who was going to a bookstore with Hermione was in reality their former professor and prankster extraordinaire that their grips on Hermione were released. It was nothing new that the two were friends, but it was commonly known among her friends that Hermione was more apt to laugh at a suggestion of romance between herself and a friend than she was to blush at one. The two men watched them walk away without a backwards glance and- were their hands entwined?

"Interesting development, eh Forge?"

"Indeed, Gred. Very interesting."

"Jared, my friend, what has you looking so down? You've got your favorite cousins, pizza, beer, and movies. Nothing should be bothering you right now." Heath, Jared's youngest and loudest cousin said.

"He's right, mate." Another cousin, Romy, piped up. "You're never down when we get together. What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing, just a bit of a girl problem." Jared said, waving them off. He didn't want to bring down their fun time, even if he was rather upset at the moment. He realized a moment too late that he said the wrong thing. Romy squealed excitedly and jumped up to seat herself right next to him.

"Who is she? What's she like? What's the problem?"

"She's a woman I work with, she's brilliant. She's great at her job, but she's also really funny. I wasn't expecting it when I first met her, I mean, I'd heard stories about how hard she works, but then I met her and she was so calm and poised and she's funny, but in an intelligent way. She makes smart jokes, but they're not corny and stupid." Jared didn't realize he was rambling until he stopped talking.

"Wow, she sounds perfect for you," Romy said, "what's her name?"

"Hermione. Hermione Granger."

"WAIT! Are you referring to the Hermione Granger who's best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley?" at her cousin's affirmative nod, Romy chuckled softly. "No wonder you're having problems with her then." At his blank look, she continued, "Everyone knows Hermione doesn't date. Not after her horrendous break-up with Ron Weasley. Did you know they didn't talk for almost 6 months after that?" Romy misinterpreted her cousin's surprised look. "I know, I can't believe they're even friends again. If someone ditched me at my own party to snog one of my cousins… well, I guess all my cousins are guys, so it doesn't matter, but still. I can't believe he'd do that to her or that she'd forgive him so quickly."

"I think you have some bad information." Jared said, cutting off his talkative cousin. She looked insulted at his disbelief in her news. "It's not that she won't date. She just won't date me. It seems she's been seeing someone on the regular lately."

Romy looked shocked at the news. Hermione Granger is dating someone? She's actually seeing the same person on a regular basis?

"I don't believe you."

"It's true. She's been talking about him at work whenever I mention getting together. I even met him tonight when he picked her up for a date right after work. They were going to the bookstore then out to dinner at a nice restaurant." Jared shook his hand slightly, remembering the grip the man had and the look he shot Jared. His meaning was plain as day: Back off my girl or else. Jared really didn't want to find out what the 'or else' was.

Inside the bookstore, Hermione and Remus were wandering around somewhat awkwardly. Seeing the identical looks of shock on the twins' faces brought them each down a little bit, though they were reluctant to let the other see that.

_It's not like you really thought everyone in the world would be immediately fine with the idea of you seeing Remus,_ Hermione thought to herself. _Friends should be more supportive… not that we really gave them a chance to see if they were or not. We did sort of rush over to the bookstore._

"You know, Hermione," Remus said, breaking the silence the two had fallen into, "it's not as though we can ignore the way we met originally. It will come up that I was once your professor. What do you propose we do then?"

"I don't know. I didn't really think about it being very important. That was over ten years ago. We would have met anyway, even if you hadn't been my professor. That was just the beginning of our relationship."

"So my having been your professor doesn't have any bearing on our relationship in your opinion?" Remus asked.

"Well, not really. I've pretty much seen you as an intelligent friend most of the time we've known each other. Why, does it affect how you see me?" Hermione asked, suddenly self-conscious. _Did I make a big mistake in asking him to do this for me? Does he still see me as a child that needs protecting and that's why he agreed?_

"Well, I'd be lying if I said it's never affected our friendship, I did watch you grow from a child into a woman after all, but it doesn't usually have any bearing on the present. I pretty much see you as an intelligent friend." He said, mimicking her words from just a moment before.

"Good. Ooh, look," she said, tugging on his hand and pulling him toward a small section of the bookstore, "they have a section of children's books. Vic's birthday is coming up shortly; I want to find her something here." Hermione said, referring to Bill and Fleur Weasley's young daughter. She and Remus looked at the books until a voice interrupted them.

"Hermione Granger, is that you? And is that Remus Lupin? What a pleasure it is to see you both today." Hermione looked up from the book in her hands and a smile lit up her face as she saw the older gentleman approaching.

"Ignatius, it's been awhile. How are you? How is retirement suiting you?" She asked him, for the man was the current owner's father and had run the shop for many years before deciding he would rather relax with his books than be concerned with selling them. Ignatius Blott still spent much time around the store, talking with customers and hosting a book reading each weekend.

"Oh, you know. There's always something more to be done. How are you doing, Miss Granger? Is there a particular reason I find you in this section today? This isn't a part of the store you or your companion," here, he glanced shrewdly at an uncomfortable Remus, "usually frequent."

Hermione blushed and quickly set any thoughts the man was having on the right track. "Oh, no, I'm afraid nothing of that sort will be happening any time soon. I am shopping for Victoire Weasley's birthday- it's coming up rather soon, you know."

"Ah, I see," he said, discreetly eyeing the closeness of two of his most loyal patrons through the years and silently doubting her words, "Well, I think the book you have in your hands would be a wonderful gift for that little one."

"I was thinking the same thing." Hermione said, smiling even broader, "I've always loved the story and I think she'll like it as well."

"What do you have, Hermione?" Remus asked, entering the conversation for the first time.

"Beauty and the Beast." She said, suddenly realizing the similarities between that particular story and her life. "It's the story of a poor French girl falling in love with a prince who had been disfigured to look like a monster and lived in an enchanted castle. At first, she had no choice but to be near him, but after he showed her his library and treated her like she deserved, she began to love him, even to the point of saving him from the townspeople who feared him and attempted to kill him, nearly claiming his life until her love intervened on his behalf."

"I see." He commented awkwardly, not missing the links between fiction and reality.

"It's a good story to learn; to know that there are more important things than how society views people and relationships." Mr. Blott agreed, casting a none-too-discreet glance in Remus' direction. "I'm afraid that doesn't answer why you're here though." he said addressing Remus.

"Hermione and I were planning on dinner tonight and she mentioned she wanted to stop by here first, so I agreed to accompany her." Remus said, earning an encouraging smile from both Hermione and Ignatius.

"What a nice thing to do. You don't see many young men accompany their ladies on errands. Very refreshing. Very refreshing indeed. If you'll excuse me, I think I see a woman who seems to be having a bit of a problem deciding between books; I think I'll go see if I can help her any. Excellent choice, Hermione." With that, he strolled away to the gardening section, leaving the two alone amongst the children's books, wondering if he was referring to the story or her company.

"Well, that was interesting." Remus said after a moment of awkward silence.

"Yes it was. Most encounters with him are though." She said fondly.

"That's true enough." He replied, chuckling, "is that all you wanted, or was there something else?" he asked, looking around the store.

"Well," she said uncertainly, "if you don't mind, I'd really like to look around the magical theory section a bit before picking up my order and leaving."

Hearing the hopeful note in her voice, Remus couldn't help but smile indulgently back at her. "Of course that would be fine. There are a few books in that section I've been looking at, myself."

As he saw the grin spread along her face before she turned to walk to the section, unconsciously grabbing Remus' hand to pull him along, Remus knew he was completely lost and would give in to whatever the woman tugging on his hand and heartstrings decided she wanted.

Looking around the bookstore was more fun than Remus had imagined it would be. The two book lovers were in paradise and often exclaimed over a book or piece of information they had found.

"You don't want to buy that one, love." Remus said, peering at the cover of the book Hermione was holding wistfully.

"Why not?" she asked, confused. She had heard nothing but good things about this book and it seemed as though it might be useful on one of her side projects.

"Because I already have it in my library, that's why not. I don't think you should spend money on a book I'd let you borrow willingly when you could get a book neither one of us has instead."

"Really?" she asked, breathing in sharply. Remus had a copy of _Behind the Basics: Principles of Advanced Charm-Weaving._ She could hardly wait to get her hands on it (and other untold treasures hiding in his library). "What are we still doing here? Let's get to dinner, then can I go look in your library? Please?" Remus just laughed at her, silently wondering if she would start to love him if he showed her his library, as happened in the story she picked out for Victoire.

"Yes, we can go to dinner," he said, picking up her relatively small stack of books. She only had four books for herself along with the smaller one for Vic. "Where do you want to go?" He asked as they walked toward the check-out.

"I don't know. Something different, I think, but comfortable at the same time. Beyond that, it's up to you." If she said that to Ron or Harry, she knew, she would be worried with what they would pick, but she was comfortable giving Remus such a vague description to work with. More than that, she was confident he would find somewhere that was exactly what she wanted, even though she didn't know what that was herself.

Remus was thinking about his options as Hermione stepped up to the counter.

"I also have an order that's come in under Granger, Hermione." She said before the sales girl began ringing her purchase up on the outdated register, knowing it was easier if everything was together at once.

As Hermione paid for her purchases, Remus was deep in thought as to what a good dining option might be. He picked up her parcels and led her out the door. As they stepped onto the bustling street, Remus asked a seemingly innocuous question.

"Do you trust me?"  
"Of course I do. That's why I left it up to you."

"Excellent," he said grinning, "hold tight to my arm and concentrate on staying with me." With that, Remus and Hermione disappeared, leaving only the popping noise of suddenly displaced air in their wake.

"I hope you don't mind a slight walk." Remus said as he led her out of the alley they arrived in. "It's a muggle place and I don't think it would be a good idea to apparate directly onto the street." He said as he led her onto a semi-busy street.

Hermione laughed her agreement. "I hope it's not too much of a walk. I am starting to get hungry."

"Not far at all. In fact, we're nearly there." Remus pointed out an unobtrusive building at the end of the block they were walking down.

Hermione was in shock at his choice. How could he possibly have chosen her favorite comfort-food restaurant out of all England, Wizard or Muggle?

"What do you think?" Remus asked as he opened the door to Panera Bread.

"I think it's different from what I usually have, living in the wizarding world, and that this is one of the most comfortable and relaxing places in existence." She replied happily, walking up to the giant menu boards to contemplate what she wanted.

"Are you ready to order?" asked a young-looking boy wearing a bright hand colored name badge proclaiming himself to be Danny.

Remus stepped up to the register, bringing Hermione along with him as she told him what she wanted.

"Can we have a strawberry poppy seed salad and a chicken salad sandwich with two iced green teas, please?"

"The name please?" Danny asked.

"Remus." At the unusual name, the boy's head snapped up to examine the couple in front of him.

"You're Remus Lupin! And Hermione Granger! You might not remember me, Hermione, I was only a second year when you left school, but you were my hero. I was part of that study group you led for the younger kids each week. You were brilliant!"

"How in the world did you have time to tutor a group of young kids each week?" Remus asked incredulously, interrupting the boy's hero-worshipping. "You had the highest NEWT scores in over fifty years, and that was the year- "he glanced quickly at the boy behind the register before finishing his thought, "we were working on that project. How did you have the time to accomplish it all?"

"Time can be fickle, but it is also our friend. Remember my third year?" she asked, directing a significant look toward Remus.

"Ah, I see. We'll have to discuss some of the effects of your choices in, ah, time management sometime." he said to Hermione before turning back to the boy at the register. "What do I owe you?"

Danny told him the amount, which Remus handed over. "Your drinks will be ready at the first counter in a moment. It was great meeting you." He said, giving Remus a small object that looked like a thick plastic coaster.

Remus picked up their drinks when they were ready, then motioned for Hermione to pick their seats. She led him to a booth in the back, out of the way of most everyone in the store, giving them maximum privacy in the open restaurant.

As they were seating themselves, the pager that the boy handed to Remus began buzzing.

"Excuse me; I'll be back in a moment." Remus said as he stood up again.

True to his word, just a few minutes later, Remus returned to their table bearing trays with their food on it. Hermione halved her salad and dumped one half onto the empty spot on Remus' tray while he held on to half of his sandwich, waiting for Hermione to set her plate down again before he placed it on her plate next to her remaining salad. All of this was accomplished in about a minute while the two talked about the boy at the cash register.

"That was so embarrassing." Hermione faux whispered to her companion.

"What? He was just a bit enthusiastic about meeting up with a former school friend." Remus said, not without a smile ghosting around his lips.

"Are you kidding me? He was nearly sycophantic about seeing me! I tutored him for a year, many years ago- how does that lead to gushing over me now?" she asked, picking up her fork to begin on the salad in front of her.

"Should I take that to mean you won't be gushing over me any time soon?" Remus asked casually. Not even a second after the words slipped out of his mouth, he wondered what in the world possessed him to ask that. For her part, Hermione sat frozen with her fork poised halfway between her plate and mouth, getting ready to take a bite, but never completing the movement. Remus wished she would, because the sight of her sitting across from him with a blush on her cheeks and her mouth partially opened was causing several inappropriate images to come to his mind.

Recovering herself quickly, Hermione set her fork down. "I'm hardly the type to be _gushing_," she said derisively, "besides which, they are two completely different situations. I've actually seen and been in contact with you in the interim period between then and now."

"That you have." Remus agreed as he picked up the half of the sandwich on his plate and took a big bite, hoping to put that vein of conversation behind them.

"Would you ever gush over me?" Hermione found herself asking, in what felt like a very small voice.

"Hermione Jean Granger!" Remus exclaimed, quickly swallowing his food (which was made difficult by the fact that he had taken so large a bite). "I am shocked and appalled that you think so little of me." He took a quick sip of the iced green tea to clear his throat, during which time Hermione willed her dismay not to show on her face. "I have been gushing over you since the day we met and you put your concern for Harry above your own experience with the dementors."

"Oh." She said simply, shock etching its way across her features. Looking for a distraction, she picked up her fork and began eating the salad she had momentarily forgotten about.

"So, how often have you slipped through the fabrics of time?" Remus asked once his hunger had been abated.

"Oh, shut up, you make it sound like I have a habit of manipulating time." Hermione said, leisurely sipping her tea.

"Forgive me, but for all I know, you're somewhere else right now." He said seriously. Hermione almost didn't notice the twitching of his lips. She did though, and sighed theatrically.

"You caught me. I'm in America at the moment. I didn't want to hurt your feelings by standing you up, so I just thought I'd risk everything and rip open the threads that hold the universe together so I could be in two places at once tonight."

"Really though…" he asked, knowing she would pick up his train of thought.

"Really, it was just those two school years. I had so insanely much to do my seventh year I didn't let myself have time to sleep. Professor McGonagall noticed and made me choose an option. I couldn't cut down on anything I was doing-it was too important- so I chose the necklace."

"Sooo… How old are you?" Remus asked, trying not to sound like some perverted old guy hitting on a young woman, though that was essentially what he was doing.

"Well, while next September my parents will celebrate the 24th anniversary of my birth, my body is somewhere closer to 25-26 and my mind, I don't know, sometimes I think it's eons old." She said, laughing. Remus joined her in laughter.

"I think I'd have to agree with you on that. You're what I've heard called an old soul." He said.

"I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that." Hermione said questioningly.

"It's a good thing." Remus assured her around his sandwich. "It just means that you seem to have seen and understand more than most people."

"Oh. Well then, I guess that's ok."

The two ate in peace for a few moments before Hermione spoke again.

"Is this weird?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to clarify that question, love." Remus said, though he thought he knew what she was referring to.

"I mean, is it weird that we're here, like on a date?"

"I don't think so. We've known each other a long time and we've been good friends for most of that. Why? Do you think it's weird?" he asked, worried.

"No. I was just thinking that it was slightly weird that it's not weird."

"Oh. Well, you might be right on that count. But neither one of us has thrived on social conventions, so I don't see why this would be any different."

"That's true, you have a good point…"

"You seem like you're searching for a way for this to be weird." He said, observing her facial and vocal expressions.

"I think I might be." She said. He waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts and continue. "I'm really enjoying myself and it seems you are too. If it's not weird for either of us to be on a so-called-date, then I guess I'm just wondering why not make it an actual thing, instead of a so-called-thing?"

"I- I don't think I quite get where you're going." Remus said. He understood her meaning perfectly, but desperately needed a chance to slow his heart rate and let the blood stop rushing his head for a moment.

"You know perfectly well where I'm going with this, Remus. Though I suppose your acting like you don't gives me my answer. You're just not attracted to me, are you?"

"Hermione, don't be ridiculous." Remus started.

"Ridiculous? Not only am I unattractive, I'm ridiculous now, too?" she hissed at him.

"You're ridiculous if you think you're unattractive." he told her.

"What?"

"It's not that I'm not attracted to you- I am, more than I probably should be for you being a former student of mine. I don't think you quite grasp the realities of my being what I am, though."

"Remus, I believe I told you this before, but it doesn't matter to me. No," she said, grabbing his hand across the table, "it really doesn't matter to me. I don't care what other people say or think or do. I never have, why should I start now, when it matters and could hurt myself and one of the people I care most about in the world?"

"Hermione?" Remus asked tentatively.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to really date me, not just pretend?"

"I would love to."

"Good. Now, would you like to go somewhere more date-like?"  
"Are you crazy?" Hermione asked, wielding her fork at him. "This is the best salad I've ever had!"

A/N: This chapter took a totally different turn than I was expecting! I was thinking this "talk" would come a few dates later, but alas, that's not how the conversation worked out. By the way, if you think it's totally out of character for Hermione to be leading that conversation, have you ever had a thought you just couldn't rein in? It just escaped her mouth and she couldn't just leave it because she's her, and all doubts aside, she wouldn't be able to let it go until it was resolved.

Also, I have had a reviewer or two express concerns with the way I've begun portraying Remus. I think I've started clarifying that a bit in the body of the story but let me explain. I think that they way we've seen Remus expressed in the books is out of his natural habitat. He was either a professor, able only to express his scholarly side to the students or in the midst of a war crisis in which the Marauder in him (for he was a Marauder in the days of his youth, not merely a tag-along with his roommates- they could easily have ostracized him and left him out of the fun, rather than working to support him and his furry little problem) was unable to be let out due to the gravity of the situations he was placed in. Now, he's able to relax a bit and Hermione, being the one who his heart has given itself to, brings that out in him especially well. He can relax and not be worried about sounding scholarly or always having proper grammar or finding the right word for a certain situation, he can just be and try to get himself across rather than simply show a facet of himself. I don't know if I've just muddied that up for you all, but that's what I think, so that's what I'm writing.


	7. Chapter 5: Word Leaks Out

A/N: *runs and hides* I know it's been several months already and I said the next update probably wouldn't take that long… what can I say? School and my jobs and my family got in the way. And holidays are busy. And mostly I really just didn't know how to start this chapter off because last chapter's ending was not how I planned it. At all. Sooo… yeah.

Also making it difficult is that the feelings for the person this was inspired by have changed enough to make this a challenge to write, knowing he was the inspiration for my interpretation of Remus in this story.

Disclaimer: I didn't get the rights to Harry Potter for Christmas, Groundhog Day, or Valentines Day. I did, however, buy myself some discounted chocolate on February 15th. =)

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful, loving reviewers, who don't give up on me no matter how long I take to update a new chapter.

Hope you enjoy, but let me know either way, ok? Thanks!

Also, many thanks to Carrie Underwood, Chris Cagle, George Strait, and Garth Brooks for providing the musical inspiration for the continuance of the chapter when I felt stuck. ;)

For the second morning in a row, Hermione hit the snooze button on her alarm. She just couldn't make herself get out of bed. She was finally dating the man she'd harbored a crush on for too many years to remember exactly when it started. He liked her and was willing to give a relationship with her a try, despite a few misgivings he had about the situation.

After their dinner last night, Hermione went back to Remus' house to look at the books in his library a bit closer. There were so many interesting finds he had that she couldn't wait to read. A few might even help with what she was working on for St. Mungo's and he was going to drop them off to her at work during her lunch break that day. Hermione smiled just thinking about the prospect of seeing him again. That was enough incentive to drive her out of bed before the snooze went off.

As she opened the window to let the news owl in, however, she wanted to crawl back under the covers. The front page headline flashed: War Heroine's Romance with Former Teacher. Underneath was a large picture of her and Remus at dinner, leaning into each other from across the table. As she looked at the byline, Hermione groaned. Romilda Vane. The girl was nothing but a vicious gossip in school, and It had only gotten worse when she got Rita Skeeter's former job at the Prophet (for some reason, Skeeter's writing hadn't been what her readers demanded and she was out of a job). She was careful to get the truth of a situation, but exposed only what could damage a person's pride or reputation. Hermione feared what she would find in the article, and what effects it might bring with it.

Scanning the article, Hermione didn't know whether to be relieved or anxious that it seemed to have been written in a hurry and didn't have a lot of details. On the bright side, there wasn't much of anything there besides an invasion of privacy and information people could find out on their own if they so desired. On the downside, that meant that a follow-up article with more in it would be sure to follow soon. Oh well. Best to just keep that in mind and keep her nose clean, as Molly Weasley would say*, and not do anything worth gossiping about.

After she ate breakfast and got ready for work, she jotted a quick note to send off to Remus, who she knew had cancelled his Prophet subscription because of the substandard news reporting.

Remus- Slow news day. We made the front page of the Prophet. Not a lot of details, but the world knows about us now. Can't wait to see you at lunch! –Hermione

She had debated writing "Love, Hermione" as she usually ended her personal letters, but thought it best not to at this stage in the relationship. Besides, the short missive could hardly be considered a letter. She quickly copied the front page and sent the pages off with her owl before she could change her mind about the signature.

When Hermione got into work, she was immediately flocked by some of the females in her department.

"Is it true, Hermione?" one woman asked  
"Are you really dating Remus Lupin?" a second clarified

"But he's so much older than you!" Hannah, a young woman on an internship who was just out of school piped in.

"And isn't he a werewolf?" the first woman asked.

Frustrated with the sudden attention on her personal life, Hermione quickly answered their questions. "She may be horrifically nosy, but Romilda Vane does do her homework on her articles. She is generally factually correct, if somewhat off on semantics. Yes, I am dating Remus Lupin. No, the age difference does not bother me. Now, today is Wednesday; what does that mean?"

"Patient evaluations." The women chorused with their spirits dampened because they wouldn't get a good gossip session out of her.

"Exactly. Get started, please." She commanded them as she went into her office for a second cup of coffee. Just one this morning would not cut it.

At a knock on the door, Hermione growled quietly before seeing a head pop around the corner.

"Um, are you okay, Hermione?" Jared asked before making his way in.

"Yes, of course. Sorry Jared, I thought you were one of those women, coming to gossip with me about that damn Prophet article this morning."

He shifted around uncomfortably a bit.

"Well, see, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

Hermione just buried her face in her hands and muttered to herself "is nothing sacred?"

Ignoring the fact that he hadn't actually been invited in to sit down, Jared shut the door and perched himself on the chair opposite Hermione's place at her desk.

"See, um, I went out with my cousins last night, like I told you, and before we really got into anything, I was kind of, um, tricked into talking about you. I wouldn't have said anything, really, but my cousin, Romy, she can get anything out of you she wants. It's like, this gift… or curse… or something."

"Wait." Hermione said, processing what he had said so far. "Romy? As in Romilda Vane? As in you're related to one of the girls who made my school years, not to mention today so far, miserable?"

"Erm…yes."

"What, exactly, did you tell her?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Just, you know, that you were dating this guy regularly and that last night you were going to the bookstore then out to dinner. Look, Hermione, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you the subject of one of her articles. I was just distracted. I really didn't mean for any of this to happen-"

"I know, Jared." She replied, cutting off his earnest apology. "And I don't blame you at all, really. Thanks for letting me know. That was big of you." she said, forcing a smile as the puzzle pieces fitted together in her mind, not liking the picture that came together when she did so.

"I have some desk work to do for a few hours before the evaluations are done and start coming in, so I need to you be in charge of that until around 10, ok? I'll come find you when you're free to take care of your own instead of supervising Hannah's and making sure things are moving along and the girls don't get caught up in socializing. Thank you." That was a dismissal if ever Jared had heard one, and he hurried out of her office, happy in the knowledge that she didn't hold his familial ties against him- if so, she would have ignored her desk work and supervised the evaluations herself instead of entrusting that task to him.

For her part, Hermione leaned her head back down on her hands and tried to ignore what was staring her in the face so she could concentrate on the piles of work on front of her.

"Miss Granger?" a small voice from the intercom box on her desk said, interrupting her thoughts. "you have a visitor."

"I don't have any appointments this morning and I'm rather busy today- we're doing evaluations. Can you please have them make an appointment and come back later?" Hermione said, reversing the charm on the two-way box so that the receptionist could hear her.

"It's the minister. He says it's rather urgent." Hermione sighed, wondering what else would be thrown her way this morning.

"Send him up."

"Right away miss."

As Harry entered her office, shutting the door behind him, he wasted no time getting down to business. "You look horrible, Herms."

The answering glare was enough to diminish his joking mood.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Well, see, I was just wondering about something I saw in the paper this morning."

"SERIOUSLY? You came down here to interrupt my day to GOSSIP with me?"

"Huh. Good to know people aren't afraid to yell at the minister. But no, Hermione, I more wanted to talk about my friendship with one of the people I've known longest."

"What do you mean?"

"When we talked on Monday, you remember, two days ago, you told me you weren't seeing anyone. This morning I opened the paper up and see this picture" here he held up the picture of Hermione and Remus looking at each other adoringly over their food, "and I have to wonder what I ever did that made you think you couldn't trust me with the fact that you're dating Remus. I mean, is it the fact that he was one of my dad's best friends? Because, that's kind of weird, but nothing insurmountable, you know. God, I felt like such an idiot when I saw the article. I mean, I saw you two together last Friday and you were so close but it didn't even click, not even when you fell asleep on his side and he took you up to Ginny's old room to sleep."

"Harry, calm down!" Hermione said, interrupting his rant, mentally filing the information that Remus was the one who put her to bed that night. "I swear on Hogwarts: A History that when I saw you on Monday, Remus and I were not dating. I did not and I would not lie to you about that. Okay?"

"Then what the hell is going on?"

"When I went on my lunch break Monday, I went to see Remus. To talk about the ball, you know? I wanted to know if he'd pretend to be my date. Anyway, our talk was cut short because he had Arthur over for lunch on _his_ break, so I went back over there that night to talk and we decided that we should see each other more in the public eye before that so I'm not still hounded all night at the ball. So we went to Flourish and Blott's and then out to dinner last night."

"So he agreed to pretend to be your date for the ball, and to pretend to date you before then? That's not kosher, Hermione. Something's not right with this picture. Like how within 3 hours, you decided on him. And he agreed right away. What's going on?"  
"I was getting there. Anyway, at dinner last night, I asked him how he would feel about getting rid of the pretend part of our dating. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the idea as I might have wanted, but he agreed to give it a shot. So, that's where we're at. Happy now, Nosy Nelly?"

"Not really. But that's not anything to do with you."

"Why? What's going on?" Hermione asked, suddenly realizing that she had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts and feelings that she hadn't even noticed the bags under Harry's eyes and the worry lines on his forehead.

"It's Ginny. I proposed Monday after talking to you. I realized I didn't really have any reason to put it off." He said this so morosely, Hermione wondered what happened that Ginny, who she thought was happy with Harry, would have turned him down.

"Oh, Harry, what happened?"

"We just can't agree on how to do it. She wants to elope so her mum can't interfere and make it into something that's not us at all. She can't understand that I've never had a big family and close friends and that since I do, I want them to celebrate with us."

"Harry! Forget that for right now. You asked Ginny to marry you and she said yes. Right?" At his nod of affirmation, she continued. "You should be celebrating the fact that you found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and she feels the same way instead of fighting and being upset that you can't agree on how to go about starting that life together."

"I know… but… what do I do?" He was so pathetic that Hermione couldn't help but go into organizer mode.

"My plans are not idiot proof, but start by buying her a dozen roses and some really good chocolate. Also make her your chicken alfredo for dinner tonight where you can apologize for not seeing things her way, listen to her reasons, and calmly talk about why you want what you want and try to come up with a compromise. You don't have to come up with a solution tonight, but just let her know that you do love her and her opinion is important to you and you're willing to do what you need to in order to have a life with her."

"Okay. Um, what's the difference between really good chocolate and regular chocolate?" Hermione couldn't help but smile at his naïveté.

"We'll have to have that lesson when we have more time. How much money do you have on you?"

"Um, thirty pounds and fifteen galleons, 13 sickles."

"Give me five galleons and I'll take care of it for you today. Don't expect me to cover your ass all the time though. You'll have to learn your way into the world of chocolate soon. But today just concentrate on roses and dinner."

"Five galleons? For chocolate? Are you kidding me?"

"Harry, my friend, I love you, but you really need to do your own shopping sometime for quality goods. There is more to chocolate than jumping frogs."

"Yeah, yeah." He said, handing over the gold.

"Okay. Now, go back to your minister-of-magic- duties."

"Thanks Hermione. I'm glad we talked."

"Me too. See you later."

"Absolutely." He said with a wicked smile Hermione could only wonder about.

Harry was scarcely out of her office when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." she called warily, looking at the stack of papers that only seemed to loom larger and more dangerous as she got distracted from them.

"Miss Granger, excellent, you're still here. I was wondering if I might come with you to watch the evaluations today. I've just been to a seminar in the muggle world that I thought might have some correlations to your current project."

"Poppy!" Hermione exclaimed upon seeing the old Hogwarts Hospital Ward matron. "Of course you can come with me. I was going to finish up some paperwork before heading over- I've sent someone else to supervise the intern this morning, but we can go check in on them now."

************************************************************************

After leaving Hermione's office, Harry decided to make one more stop before getting back to his office and taking care of the day's business.

Knocking on the door of the house whose front step he had apparated onto, Harry waited to be welcomed inside. He was not disappointed. Only a short moment after he knocked, the door was opened to reveal a somewhat harried looking man.

"Harry, how are you? Is there something I can do for you? I was just about to run a few errands, so if this could wait..."

"Actually, Remus, I was hoping we could talk." Harry said, letting himself in past Remus' defenses.

*I had a random thought of "what if this is what Mrs. Weasley meant at the beginning of book 1 when sending Ron off with a smudge on his nose on the Hogwarts Express? What mischief might Ron have gotten into already?" I think that might be a forthcoming one-shot, but don't hold your breath (though I think you guys know me well enough by now not to do that in anticipation of anything I write).

There's a poll up on my profile site. If I don't get very many people responding, I will assume that I should stop writing fan fiction because no one cares what I write anyway. I might not pay attention, but that's what I'll think.

If anyone can guess what Harry's up to, I will give you a virtual box of chocolates and a guest appearance in an upcoming chapter.


	8. Chapter 6: What A Morning!

Chapter 6: what a morning!

A/N: I fail at life. That is all.

Disclaimer: My car died, loans didn't come through for me to continue college, and I'm living with my grandparents. I think it can safely be assumed that I'm not under any impression that I'll be gaining anything from this besides my loyal readers happy that I'm continuing after such a ridiculously long break. And people who didn't remember that they were my loyal readers going through the story again to remember it and then saying "Hey, what the heck took this chick so long to write such a short chapter?" Life happened. I'm sorry. I try not to let it influence me that much, but it has a way of just sweeping me along for the ride without thought to what I'm supposed to be writing. Hopefully you enjoy the update though.

Dedication: I would very much like to dedicate this chapter to Selemi… the only person so far to review my newest one-shot. Getting that made me smile. =)

*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*OWL*

After Harry pushed his way into Remus' house, he turned and looked at the man.

"What are your intentions toward my best friend?" he asked seriously, with all the authority of an older brother, best friend, and someone with the power to do damage if the answer was not satisfactory.

Slightly annoyed at the delay, Remus realized that Harry had nothing but her best interest in mind and that if he could answer well enough to satisfy the Minister of Magic, he and Hermione would have fewer issues with the general public. He also vaguely noted that if both Harry and Arthur were on his side, Molly was much more likely to be pacified at the unconventional pairing and would not make such a fuss at dinner Friday night.

"I intend to bring Hermione some books for her research at lunch today. I intend to take her out to dinner tonight. I intend to take up as much of her time as she will possibly allow, getting further acquainted with her mind and heart. I intend to help her realize how completely gorgeous she is, how utterly sexy I find her when she's curled up on my couch reading, unable to tear herself away from some thought or story. I intend to help her remember the war and prepare her speech- she's rather nervous about that, by the way. It would have been nice if you'd asked before you made your little announcement." he told the man in front of him before picking up his train of thought again. "I intend to help her become more comfortable working in a kitchen as she's not certain of her culinary skills. I want to pick her brain on anything and everything she finds interesting. I want to share my life and experiences with her and have her want to do the same with me. And I fully intend on taking her to the ministry ball in a few months."

"You're in love with her." Harry realized.

Remus made a small sound of agreement with Harry's assessment.

"She doesn't think you're all that serious. She's worried she's forcing you into something you don't really want, that you're trying not to hurt her and are just being a good friend, willing to see what might happen when a well-known witch who happens to be a friend throws herself at you."

"She said that?" Remus asked, surprised, as he had thought that he had been rather forthcoming with why he wanted to be with her.

"She didn't have to. We've been friends a long time. I can read into the subtext of what she's saying."

"Hm. I'll have to work on changing her thoughts then. I thought last night I'd made my intentions rather clear." Remus was remembering back to the previous night, their dinner, conversation, and the time they spent at his house afterward, looking through his books and talking about whatever came to mind.

Harry appeared rather hesitant to voice his next thought but awkwardly cleared his throat anyway. "Did you kiss her?"

Remus' eyes widened fractionally. "I don't see how that has any relevance-"

"Of course it does! I realize it's… odd to be talking to me about her like this, but she's my best friend. If you didn't kiss her, I'm sure she saw it as proof that you're not interested or attracted to her or something ridiculously girly like that."

"I… I was trying to show her I respected her and didn't want to force anything physical too soon." Remus said, thinking that Harry was right- it was awkward talking to his deceased friend's son about _his_ best friend, whom Remus was seeing with a romantic interest.

"Right. Well, let her know… what she wants to know." He cleared his throat again, moving on to a new topic.

"Erm… Ginny's sort of peeved at me at the moment. I'm making her dinner tonight and Hermione said she'd get some chocolate for me- well, for her- but I was wondering… Can you teach me about chocolate? Hermione said she would but she tends to make me feel like this is something I should already know even though I never had anyone to teach me about this sort of thing before so I was thinking-" Remus cut him off before he could ramble any more.

"Of course I will, Harry. I should have thought of that before. I knew you didn't have James around to do that sort of thing with you but I guess I thought one of the Weasley's would teach you how to do that sort of thing."

"I think they might have," Harry admitted, "if not for the fact that it's been Ginny since I was sixteen. They're all rather protective of her, and I don't think they wanted to do anything that might promote undue closeness too early in our relationship." He said this with a slight grin, knowing Remus knew what he was referring to, and that he was the closest thing to a father figure Harry had when he and Ginny had first been 'unduly close' and that Remus had been his confidant.

"Ah. Yes. On that subject… when are you two going to take things to the next step? I don't think she'll be happy only being your girlfriend for the rest of her life when that's been her role for the last seven years, and I know Molly won't be happy about it."

Harry got a look on his face somewhere between a sheepish smile and a sappy grin. "Actually, we got engaged Monday night. That's kind of why she's mad at me." At Remus' raised eyebrows, he hurried to explain himself. "I was talking to Hermione and realized there really wasn't anything to wait for to ask her, so I did and she said yes and then we got talking and got into this big fight about whether we wanted a big or a small wedding and there was yelling and- ugh. It wasn't what I thought it would be like." He admitted.

"Huh. Well that's not ideal. You just need to let her know that you're open to hear what she has to say if she'll listen to your reasons too. Good relationships are full of give and take. You just need to work out what will work for you two. I'm sure you'll be able to find a happy compromise between letting Molly control things and having your friends and family there with you as you celebrate your love." He interpreted the look on Harry's face. "Don't look so surprised. Anyone who's close to you would be able to tell what your concerns would be with this. Now, if you don't mind, I do have things to do before going to see Hermione in a bit, and you should probably be getting to work soon. It's nearly nine- thirty."

"Ah, shit! Thanks for the talk Remus! I'll see you on Friday- please don't say anything to Molly or Arthur until Ginny and I resolve this." He said, rushing out the door.

"Of course." Remus agreed, before realizing he was talking to thin air as Harry had already disapparated.

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As Remus entered the annex to St. Mungo's, he felt more eyes upon him than he had when he had been there just the night before when he had come to pick Hermione up after work. _Stay calm, cool, and collected. They don't actually know anything, and it's none of their business anyway._ He strode up to the desk in the lobby and told the woman there that he had a lunch appointment with Hermione Granger and wondered if he could make his way up or if she was busy at the moment.

"Hold on one moment and I'll check for you." She said with an eye appraising him as she pushed a button that allowed her contact with Hermione's office.

_ "_Miss Granger, a man is here who says he has a lunch appointment with you. Shall I send him up?" The response was evidently filtered directly into the piece in her ear because Remus couldn't hear anything, but the woman smiled at him. "She says she's more than ready for you." The woman managed to keep most of the innuendo out of her voice, but couldn't help the smirk at his facial response to her phrasing. "Head on up." She said with a smile, gesturing to the staircase to the left. "She's on the second floor and her office is third on the right."

Remus nodded his thanks and made his way up the stairs, maneuvering the box in his arms so he could keep a hand on the rail so as not to lose balance. He heard the witch at the desk laughing quietly to herself at his eagerness. _Ah well. She has to get her jollies in somewhere_. _It might as well be at making slightly off-color remarks to eager wizards._ He realized that he really did fit into the 'eager wizard' category, especially after his earlier conversation with Harry, making him want to show Hermione that he truly wanted the blooming relationship between them.

He knocked on her partially open door and opened it the rest of the way to reveal Hermione deep in discussion with none other than the Hogwarts nurse.

"Poppy! I wasn't aware you were here. How are you?" he asked, slightly perturbed that he couldn't be as affectionate with Hermione in the presence of the matron, but showing only his pleasure at seeing the woman who had cared so well for him in his younger years.

"Remus, hello. I came to talk to Hermione about a project she'd told me she was working on. We were just debating the effective use of muggle therapy on some patients." she informed him.

"She's helping me with the Cruciatus project." Hermione clarified for him, while letting the matron know that while the project itself was being well-protected, she had no qualms about letting Remus in on her work and getting his thoughts.

"Ah, I see. Are you coming up with anything that seems like a workable solution?" he asked while shifting the box he was holding as it was getting somewhat awkward.

"Not yet. I'm sure we will, though." Madam Pomfrey said, standing up. "Now, I believe I heard that you two have a lunch appointment and I would hate to ruin that." She said, eyes sparkling as she gathered her cloak and made her way to the door. "Owl me later, Hermione, when you have time to continue our discussion. Remus, it was nice to see you again."

"It certainly was," he said, bending to kiss the older woman's cheek as she made her way out, "it would be nice to catch up with you soon."

"Of course, dear." She said, walking out of the room, leaving Remus and Hermione alone, looking at each other.

Remus stepped further into the office, shutting the door behind him. Taking a few more steps, he walked up to the side of her desk and placed his box on it, thankful she was such an organized person and didn't have a messy desk.

For her part, Hermione stood and moved to hug him after he'd relieved himself of his burden. "It is so good to see you," she said, burying her head in his chest as she was enveloped in his arms. "You would not believe the morning I had." She marveled at the feeling of his chest rumbling in laughter beneath her cheek. Somehow it felt different than it had before they had agreed to begin dating for real.

"I'm sorry to hear about your rough morning. I hope it's gotten somewhat better." He said softly, looking down at the witch in his arms, unwilling to let her out of the embrace, even as it progressed past when they would separate from a normal hug.

She smiled up at him and quietly said, "It's getting there."

Powerless to stop himself, he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers before pulling back.

"Definitely better." She amended, smiling up at him. His soppy grin told her that he'd done that because he wanted to, not because he thought it was expected or thought it was what she was looking for.

Letting go of his hold on her, Remus backed up and gestured to the box he had dumped on her desk. "For you, madam." He said, willing her to open it and hoping she'd be happy at the surprises he put inside.

"Oooh!" she squealed, remembering the books he was going to bring over and eagerly opened it… only to find several smaller nondescript boxes inside. She looked curiously up at him before he nodded at her to continue opening. The first box she opened had several books inside, shrunk to fit in the small space. She enlarged them and put them aside while thanking him for bringing the books she'd asked for to her, along with a few she hadn't thought of but realized might be helpful as well. The second box she opened had a box of chocolates in it. She looked up at him, surprised at the quality.

"Harry came to see me earlier." he explained. "He said you were going to pick some up for him, but I thought that since I had some extra time, I could do it for you. I thought that while I was at it, you might appreciate some as well." He said smiling. "I dropped Ginny's off at Harry's office before I came here.

Hermione beamed in response at him and before he knew what was happening, she was wrapped in his arms once again.

"Thank you so, so much! I didn't know how I was going to find the time to do that for him without skipping out on you, which I didn't want to do but I also wanted to help he and Ginny patch things up-"She abruptly stopped talking as Remus lips descended on hers for a second time that day.

"You were rambling." he explained quietly as he pulled back shortly. "And you're welcome. It was my pleasure to be a help to a beautiful witch."

She pulled his head down to meet hers again, in awe both at his thoughtfulness and that he seemed to want to keep kissing her, even though she was just Hermione.

They pulled apart after a few moments, smiling at each other, until Remus cleared his throat. "So since you no longer have to go out running around for Harry, I thought I'd bring you something else." He said, reminding her of the third box he'd brought with him.

She turned to open it, staying as close to him as she could while doing so.

"You brought me Chinese food for lunch." She said, turning again to face him.

"Well, I kind of brought it for me, too." he reminded her with a smile. "This was a lunch meeting after all."

"You are the absolute best." She said, swiftly kissing his cheek before clearing space for the cartons of food to be spread out on her desk. She found 2 plates at the bottom of the box, along with 2 sets of chopsticks and plastic-ware, which she happily placed at the edge of the desk in front of the two chairs opposite where she sat to work.

"I wasn't sure if you were proficient with chop sticks," Remus said, "and I sometimes have problems picking rice up with them." he admitted a little sheepishly.

Hermione laughed but was quick to admit that she used to have a lot of problems with them.

"It wasn't until I started knitting that I figured out how I was supposed to be holding them." She said, remembering the problems she used to have. "Harry still can only manage to use them if he spears whatever he's eating with the end of them. And Ron completely ignores them, says they don't get enough food to his mouth at once." She said, laughing at her two best friends.

"Yeah, that sounds like them all right." Remus agreed, moving one of the chairs to the side and transfiguring the other into a comfortable bench for them to sit on next to each other. "So I guess it's a good thing I'm semi-proficient with them then, so you can enjoy your food without worrying about my table manners." Remus said, sitting down with a grin.

They served up the food and began eating in peace, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So," Remus said, breaking the silence, "we made the newspaper." He was not expecting the groan of frustration that accompanied his statement.

"Yes, and it's apparently all anyone can talk about." Hermione said, setting her chop sticks aside. "Doesn't anyone have anything better to do than talk about my love life?"

"I don't." Remus answered succinctly. "In fact, I'd rather like to know more. Tell me what you see in this guy to make him worth your time."

Putting aside her frustration with the wizarding world's need for gossip, Hermione smiled at him. "Only if you can tell me what an intelligent, considerate, affectionate man who's one hell of a kisser is doing with someone who's not much more than a walking brain."

"Hermione, you are much more than a walking brain. You're intelligent, yes, but you're beautiful and caring and a wonderful friend. There's so much more to you than what is in your massive brain under that rather sexy head of hair you have." Hermione blushed at the unexpected and rather unbelievable compliment on her mane. "Though I do have to confess," Remus admitted, "that I am rather attracted to your mind as well as simply finding you the absolute sexiest thing I've ever seen." He punctuated this statement by leaning over and kissing her thoroughly, encouraged at her enthusiastic response.

So wrapped up in the feel of each other's tongues on their own that neither noticed when the door opened, though they broke apart when it bounced against the wall. The man who had barged in was frozen in shock at the sight he had just been witness to. Remus schooled his face into passive annoyance at the intrusion as he untangled his fingers from Hermione's thoroughly mussed (and utterly sexy) hair. Hermione made no move to hide her frustration as she asked in a dangerously quiet voice what he thought he was doing interrupting her lunch break.

"Paper-you-him-" the man stammered, trying to get his wits back. "I can't believe-"

"I can't believe the gall you have!" Hermione nearly bellowed, "You have no right to barge into my office intent on asking about my personal life. You gave that up when you fucked my cousin at the party celebrating my promotion to this job!"

"But- I said I was sorry. I thought you just needed time to get over that. We're good together, Hermione." the redhead nearly begged her to deny the paper and what his own eyes had seen.

"We obviously weren't or you wouldn't have betrayed me like you did." She stated coolly, ignoring the scarlet flush that swept across his face and neck. "And while I can be your friend now, there is no way in hell I would ever consider dating you again. As I believe I've just said, you have no right to interrogate me on my love life."

"L-lo-love?" he asked, nearly choking on the word.

"Perhaps not." Hermione said, frowning before glancing back at Remus, who was looking intently at Hermione, watching her every facial movement and cataloguing her reactions. He was thoroughly ignoring the poor sap standing in front of him who was begging for hope and had absolutely no idea how close he was to being torn to shreds. "At least not yet. Would it make you feel better if I told you had no right to butt into my sex life?"

As expected, Ron's eyes widened considerably as his face lost all traces of color. "You're-? No. No way. This is just you getting back at me. I mean, he was our professor! He's too old for you. And he's a werewolf! What could you see in him? How could you-"

"Shame on you, Ronald Weasley." Hermione said, barely containing her rage. "I thought you knew better than to judge someone based on something they have no control over. I thought the last several years of being his friend would leave you less prejudiced than that. And as I recall, I knew about his condition well before you did and did not judge him for it then either. Not that you have the right to judge ANYONE on who they choose to be with- remember Hannah? Remember thrusting your dick into the tall, sexy blonde who happens to be my uncle's daughter? Remember how her legs felt, wrapped around your waist, urging you to keep going even as you could both see that you were ruining what was supposed to be a day of celebration for me? Do you remember the reason why you no longer have any say in my romantic involvement with someone, Ronald Weasley?" she shouted at him.

"I'd suggest you leave now, Ron." Remus spoke up, holding tight to Hermione's hand to keep them both from doing damage to the man still standing in the doorway to Hermione's office.

The man in question looked between the two of them, turned around and left, slamming the door after him.

After taking several shuddering, deep breaths, Hermione looked up at Remus.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him get to me like that. I should control myself better."  
Remus looked at her and wiped the tears she didn't know had escaped from her eyes during her tirade before wrapping her in a giant hug.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for." he told her softly, gently stroking her hair. "He's a bastard. He shouldn't have said what he did, but he had no right to say anything considering what he did to you. Which he also had no right to do, for the record."

"Thanks." She muttered, still upset at herself for her emotional display, and even more upset at Ron for once again ruining what was supposed to be a good day for her.

"Look at me, Hermione," Remus said, separating them, but still holding her arms in his hands, "anyone who would let his libido overrule him to the point of forsaking the beautiful, wonderful, brilliant, loving woman that you are for a cheap imitation of the real thing is an idiot and not deserving of your time. That you let yourself be friends with him again after that shows more strength of character than most people would be able to dream of."

"Or it shows that I'm someone who doesn't care about her own emotional well being enough to separate herself from the person who she'd spent the better part of her life with, as either a friend or boyfriend. And how can you say all that stuff about me when my own boyfriend was more concerned with screwing someone than he was about hurting me? I'm obviously not that great if that could happen." She said bitterly, crying some more.

"Oh, Hermione," he murmured, pulling her back against his chest again, as he realized what a toll the break-up nobody really knew anything about had taken on her self-esteem. He was suddenly aware why neither of them had leaked any details about what had caused the split. It would have ruined both of them; the media would have had a field day. He pulled her closer. "You have a ridiculously huge heart, that someone would take his part of it and knowingly do it damage is an unthinkable cruelty. Being able to forgive him for hurting you like that is more than he could ever hope to deserve." Remus said, hating Ron for reducing Hermione to a quivering mess nearly a year after their break-up. He spent a few more minutes soothing Hermione and silently fuming at the bastard who still seemed to think he had a claim on Hermione's life before realizing that Hermione's lunch break was nearly over.

"Come on." he said, pulling her up when he was sure she was done crying. After they were both standing, he transfigured the bench back into a chair and vanished the remains of their lunch.

"What? Remus- I still have to work this afternoon." She protested.

"How much work do you really think you'll get done?" he asked. "And weren't you complaining that people kept bothering you about the article earlier? You put in enough extra hours that you should be able to leave early today without a problem."

It was a mark of how out of sorts she still was that she acquiesced without any more protest. She simply called Jared into her office and told him she was knocking off early and he was in charge before dismissing the rather stunned man. She then looked up at Remus with a question in her eyes.

"What now?" she asked.

"Hold tight." he told her, picking up the chocolates he had brought her before tucking her under his arm and apparating them away.

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A/N: Where are they off to? What does Remus plan on doing with an emotionally distraught Hermione and really good chocolates? What will Harry and Ginny decide upon? What will Molly and Arthur say to the theatrics that are bound to make an appearance at Friday's dinner? What the hell was Ron thinking?

These answers and more in an upcoming chapter or two.

Okay, I can give an answer to that last one: he didn't want to accept that his mistake (as he thinks of it- incidentally, that's pretty much how Hermione views the entirety their relationship) had forever removed Hermione from his life. He really did think that she just needed time to cool off and that her being able to forgive him and consider him a friend again (though not a best friend anymore, certainly) meant she was getting closer to taking him back. That the paper showed something contrary to that gave him quite the shock and he was looking for reassurance. More of Ron's thinking will be brought forth in future chapters. Maybe. There will definitely be more of him though.

As always, I make no promises on when the next update will be, but I have a firmer grasp of what's going to happen now, so hopefully it won't take another year for an update. Which I'm thoroughly ashamed of, for the record.

I'm still debating: should there be a flashback to Hermione's celebration party with her family? Review and let me know what you think!


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